19^ 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

SPECIAL REPORT— No. 48. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 



A RECORD 



PRACTICAL TESTS 



SEVERAL STATES AND CANADA. 



WASHINGTON: 

<iOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1882. 



ii«wenpi> 




Glass. 
Book. 



'^A 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

SPECIAL REPORT— No. 48. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 



A RECORD 



ill 



PEACTICAL TESTS 



SEVERAL STATES AND CANADA. 






WASHINGTON: 

aOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICEo 

L882. 



-A-^ 






wm .13 iyri) 

B. 0t 0, 






^' CONTENTS 



PajiP. 

Letter of transmission • 3 

Circular letter -^ 

Scbcdnle of questions -- 4 

Nummary of answers 4 

Appendix H 

Stateujeut of Adams, Samuel Coldbrook Springs Mass 11 

Allen, E New Brunswick N. J 11 

Allen, Jason Coldbrook Springs Mass 12 

Ames, George H Dracut Mass 13 

Atkinson, Edward Bostou Mass 13 

Ayer, A. C Lowell Mass 14 

Bartow, H. A., & Sons Pittsfield Mass 14 

Barker, H.R Lowell Mass 15 

Bartlett, Fred Shrewsbury Mass 16 

Beale, C. B Norfolk Va 16 

Benedict, E. P New York City N. Y 17 

Benson, W. B Cardinal Canada 18 

Bent, John P Maynard Mass 19 

Bisbee, Otis Pougbkeepsie N. Y 19 

Bookstaver, D Syracuse N. Y 20 

Brown, H.E Tbetford Centre Vt 21 

Brown, J. B New York City N. Y 21 

Ballard, Charles B White River Junction.... Vt 69 

Cannon, Le Grand B Burlington Vt 22 

Chaffee, James S Wassaic N. Y 23 

Chase, Victor. Ballouville Conn 24 

Clemence, George L Southbridge Mass 24 

Cleveland, A. R Dalton Mass 25 

Coe Bros West Meriden Conn 26 

Conant, P. H Smithland Ky 27 

Cromwell, Charles T Rye N. Y 27 

Curtis, Dr. L. W Southbridge Mass 28 

Dodge, W. A Post Mills Vt 29 

Eager, W. B West Point Neb 29 

Farnum, John R Waltham Mass 30 

Fish, N. S Groton Conn 31 

Frisbie, C. H Killingly Conn 32 

Garrett, C. W Enfield N. C 32 

Gilbert, William H Richland N. Y 33 

Goodell, D. H Antrim N. H 33 

Goodall, J. P Peabody Mass 34 

Green, Jacob Wappinger's Falls N. Y 34 

Gridley, N., & Son Wassaic N. Y 35 

Guerber, L. A Mousey N. Y 35 

Hammond, Gardner G New London . ..Conn. .. 36 



II CONTENTS. 



Pajte. 

.Va 37 

.... 37 

.... 38 



Statement of Hampton Normal School Hampton 

Harrigan,J Fosborougli Mass 

Henderson, Hon. C. B Boston Mass 

Jones, John Winslow Portland Me •» 

Jones, N. P Melrose Mass iJ 

Lapham, Henry Oconomowoc Wis 40 

Leonard Bros Grafton Mass 40 

Lincoln Bros •- Woodstock ^^t 41 

Lippincott, James Mount Holly N.J 4^ 

Little, S Georgetown Mass 42 

McBryde, Prof. J. M Knoxville Tenn ^ 

Merriam,W.W New York City N. Y 44 

Morris, Francis Oakland Mills Md 4o 

Morton, Capt. G Essex Vt 

Mott, J.M Lansingburgli N. Y 40 

Neilson, James New Brunswick N. J 4/ 

Pliillips, Capt. John Hudson Mass 47 

Pierce, George A Staustead Canada 48 

Powell, George T Ghent N. Y - 

Pugsley, Jacob Wassaic N . Y 4J 

Reed, Alfred A Providence 1^- i- ^" 

Eoberts, Professor Ithaca N. \ o^ 

Rogers, J. B Biughampton N. Y o- 

Root, H. G Remington Vt o. 

Seahury, E. K Walpole N. H o6 

Sears Bros Worcester Mass oS 

Skillings,B.F Gray Me o4 

Smith, Francis H Hyattsville Md od 

Brandon "^^t ->» 



Sprague, N. T 

Stebhins, AIodzo Vernon Vt 5^ 

Strong, W.C Brighton Mass 5/ 

Sweney,Capt. A. H West Troy N- Y oS 

Tanner, Dr. W. H Wassaic N. Y oB 

Tarbell, Charles P South Royalton \t oJ 

Thomas, A. T Franklin Park N. J 59 

Thompson, Aaron S Mayuard Mass Gt 

Thompson, A. H., &. Son.... Wood viUo Mass 61 

Thompson, S.N Southhorough Mass 01 

Trne,L.P Hope Me 62 

University of Wiscousiu .... Madison Wis fi"- 

Vilas, W. M Burlington Vt 63 

Warren, William D White Plains N. Y 64 

Weeks,L.W Oconomowoc Wis 64 

West, Charles E Dalton Mass 65 

Whitman, John D DallasCeutre Iowa 6r. 

Whitney, Artemas Maynard Mass 66 

White, George W New York City N. Y 67 

White, William W Canaseraga N. Y 67 

Wollmer.J.A Turner Me 68 

Wrio^ht, E Pleasant Mills N. J 68 

Whiliu,'j. C WhitinsviUe Mass 69 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 



LETTER OF TEANSMISSION. 

DErARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 

WasJiington, I>. C, July 27, 1882. 

Sir : I liave tlie liouor to submit lierewitli a report on Silos aud En- 
silage. 

Coi)ies of a scbednle of questions aud an accouipauying letter are ap- 
peuded,in response to which the luaterials for a record of irr act ical tests 
of silos and ensilage in several States and Canada were kindly fur- 
nished. These statements of men who have built and filled silos and 
fed ensilage, and a summarj' prepared for the convenience of readers, 
constitute the report. 

It was found necessary, in preparing the statements for i^ublicatiori, 
to bring them into the smallest compass that would admit plain answers 
to the questions proposed, and on some points, where the testimony was 
uniform throughout, nnich was omitted. Theoretical discussion, while 
in many cases deeply interesting, has been generally left out. 

The several topics treated in the statements and summary are arranged 
in the same numerical order as in the schedule of questions, which will 
serve to indicate the meaning where it is not fully apparent. 
Very respectfully, 



Hon. Geo. B. Loring, 

Commissioner of Agriculture. 



D. M. NESBIT. 



silos and ensilage. 

United States Department of Agriculture, 

Washington, D. C, June 10, 1882. 
Sir : A growing interest among farmers and dairymen in tbe preservation of green 
fodder prompts ine to ask the results of your experience and observations in the mat- 
ter of sih)s aud ensilage. I will thank you to give, in responding to the accompany- 
ing questions, as full a statement of the results of your experiments as you conveniently 
can, including any points of interest not embraced in the specific enquiries, which 
may have come within your observation or knowledge. 

Will you also please gi-ve the names and addresses of any persons you may kuow 
who have experimented with ensilage ? 

I shall be glad to reciprocate your courtesy in any way that maybe open to me, and 
in the event of the publication of a rejiort upon the subject above indicated a copy 
will be forwarded to your address. 
Very respectfully, 

GEO. B. LORING, 

Commissioner. 



4 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

QUESTIONS RELATIVE TO SILOS AND EXSILAGE. 

1. Location of silo with reference to feeding-rooms. 

2. Form of silo. 

3. Dimensions of silo. 

4. Walls of silo — materials, and constrnction. 

5. Cover. 

6. Weight — materials nsed for, amonnt required, and liow applied. 

7. Cost of silo. 

8. Crops nsed for ensilage. 

9. Method of planting and cultivation. 

10. Stage of development at which fodder is most valuable for ensilage. 

11. Weight of fodder produced per acre. 

12. Kind of corn best for ensilage. 

13. Value of sweet corn as comi)ared with field varieties. 

14. Preparation of fodder for silo — machinery used. 
1.5. Filling the silo. 

16. Cost of filling per ton of fodder put in. 

17. Lapse of time before opening the silo. 

18. Condition of ensilage when opened. 

19. Detei'ioratiou, if any, after opening. 

20. Value of ensilage for milch cows. 

21. Effects of ensilage on dairy products. 

22. Value of ensilage for otlier stock. 

23. Quantity consumed per head. 

24. Method of feeding — alone, or with other food. 

25. Condition of stock fed on ensilage, both as to gain or loss of weight, and health. 
20. Proiitableness of ensilage, all things considered. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE — A SUMMARY. 

The following- is a siiinmaiy sliowing the general drift of i^ractice and 
opinion ou the several points ennmerated in the schedule of questions, 
of those who have responded to the enquiries of the department. It is 
intended here to give a comprehensive view of the whole subject in the 
combined light of the statements which appear separately in the ap- 
pendix : 

1. — LOCATION OF SILO. 

A few have been built at a distance from the stables, but generally 
the silos are located with reference to convenience in feeding, in, under, 
or adjacent to the feeding-rooms. Local considerations will determine 
whether the silo should be below the surface, or above, or partly below 
and partly above. This is not essential. Where the stables are m the 
basement of a bank barn, the bottom of the silo may be" on the same 
level, or a few teet below, and the top ev^en with the upper floor. This 
arrangement combines the greatest facilities for filling, weighting, and 
feeding. 

2. — FORM OF SILO. 

With rare exceptions the silos described show a rectangular hori- 
zontal section ; a few have the ''corners cut off," and one is octagonal. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. O 

(The cyliudrical form, of wliicli there is no instance in the accompanying 
statements, seems to have obvions advantages. If under ground, a 
cylindrical wall is self-supporting against outside pressure, and may be 
much lighter than would be safe in any other form. If of wood and 
above ground, the walls may be stayed with iron bauds. In any case, 
for a given capacity, the cylindrical form requires the least possible 
amount of wall.) 

A given weight of ensilage in. a deep silo requires less extraneous 
pressure, and exposes less surface to the air, than it would in a shallow 
silo. For these reasons de2)fh is important. If too deep there is danger 
of expressing juice from the ensilage at the bottom. 

Where the ensilage is cut down in a vertical section for feeding, a 
narrow silo has the advantage of exposing little surface to the air. 

3. — oArAri'iY OF silo. 

The silos reported vary in cai)acity from 3G4 to 19,200 cubic feet. If 
entirely full of compressed ensilage the smallest would hold 9.1 and the 
largest 480 tons, estimating 50 pounds to the cubic foot. Practically, 
the capacity of a silo is less to the extent that the ensihige settles under 
pressure. This should not exceed one-fourth, thougli in shallow silos, 
or those filled rapidly and with little treading, it is likely to be much 
more. A temporary curb is sometimes added to the silo proper, so that 
the latter may be full when the settling ceases. 

4. — WALLS OF SILO. 

For walls under ground, stone, brick, and concrete are used. The 
choice in any case may safely depend on the cost. In tirm soils that do 
not become saturated with water, walls are not essential to the preserva- 
tion of ensilage. Above ground, two thicknesses of inch-boards, with 
sheathing pai^er between, (the latter said, by some, to be unnecessary), 
seem to be sufticient, if sui)ported against lateral pressure from the 
ensilage. 

5. — COYER. 

A layer of straw or hay will serve in some measure to exclude air, 
but is not necessary. Generally boards or planks are placed directly 
on the ensilage. The cover is sometimes made in sections 2 feet, or 
more wide; oftener each plank is separate. The cover is generally i)ut 
on transversely, having in view the uncovering of a ])art of the silo 
while the weight remains on the rest. Eough boards, with no attempt 
at matching, have been used successfully. A little space should be 
allowed between the walls and cover, that there may be no interference 
as the settling progresses. {>Sec Remarlis.) 

0. — WEIGHT. 

Any heavy material may be used. The amount required depends on 
various conditions. It will be noticed that practices and opinions differ 



6 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

widely. The object is always to make the ensilage compact, and thereby 
leave little room for air, ou which depeud feraieutatioii and decay. In 
a deep silo the greater part is sufficiently compressed by a few feet of 
ensilage at the top, so that there is small jiercentage of waste, even 
when no weight is applied above the ensilage. Screws are used by 
some instead of weights. The objection to them is that they are not 
self-acting, like gravity. 

7. — COST. 

The cost of silos, per ton of capacity, varies from .$4, or $5, for Avails 
of heavy masonry and superstructures of elaborate finish, and 50 cents 
or less for the simplest wooden silos. Earth silos, without wall, can be 
excavated with i)low and scraper, when other work is not pressing, at 
a trifling cost. {^See Reniarhs.) 

8. — CROPS FOR ENSILAGE. 

Corn takes the lead of ensilage crops. Eye is grown by manj^ in con- 
nection with corn — the same ground producing a (;rop of each in a sea- 
son. Oats, sorghum, Hungarian grass, held peas, clover — in fact, almost 
every crop used for soiling has been stored in silos and taken out in 
good condition. There are indications that some materials have their 
value enhanced by the fermentation of the silo, while in others there is 
loss. The relative values for ensilage, of the different soiling crops, can 
only be determined through careful tests, often repeated, by practical 
men. 

All thoughtful farmers would be glad to get nu)re value from the bulky 
"fodder" of their corn crops than is found in any of the common meth- 
ods. There are accounts of plucking the ears when the kernels were 
well glazed, and putting the fodder into the silo. The value of such en- 
silage, and the loss, if any, to the grain are not sufficiently ascertained 
to warrant positive statements. 

!>, — PLANTING AND CULTIVATION. 

Thorough i)reparation before planting is essential. Corn, sorghum, 
and similar crops should be i)lanted in rows. The quantity of seed 
corn varies from eight quarts to a bushel and a half for an acre. A 
smoothing harrow does the work of cultivating perfectly, and with little 
expense, while the corn is small, 

10. — WHEN CROPS 'are AT THEIR BEST FOR ENSILAGE. 

The counnon i)ractice is to put crops into the silo when their full growth 
has been reached, and before ripening begins. Manifestly, one rule will 
not answer all purposes. The stock to be fed and the object in feeding- 
must be considered in determining when the crop should l)e cut. Ou 
this point must depend nuich of the value of ensilage. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 7 

11. — YIELD OF ENSILAGE CROPS. 

Corn in-oduces more fodder per acre than any other crop mentioned. 
The average for corn is not far from 20 tons — which speaks well for 
laud and culture. The largest yield from a single acre was 58 tons; the 
average of a large area on the same farju was only 12i tons. 

12. — KIND OF CORN BEST FOR ENSILAGE. 

The largest is generally preferred ; hence seed grown in a warmer 
climate is in demand. 

13. — SWEET CORN FOR ENSILAGE. 

It is conceded l)y many that the fodder of sweet corn is worth more^ 
pound for pound, than that of larger kinds, for soiling. Some hold that 
the same superiority is retained in the ensilage, while others think that 
the advantage after fermentation is on the other side. The sweet varie- 
ties generally do not yield large croi)s. 

14._PKEPARING FODDER FOR THE SILO. 

The mowing-machine is sometimes used for cutting corn in the field — 
oftener the work is done by hand. Yarious cutters, having carriers at- 
tached for elevated silos, are in use and are generally driven by horse, 
steam, or water ])ower. Fine cutting — a half inch, or less — is in favor. 
It packs closer, and for this reason is likely to keep better than coarse 
ensilage. Fodder of any kind may be put in whole, and, if as closely 
compressed as cut fodder, will keep as well, if not better; but it requires 
much greater pressure. 

15. — FILLING THE SILO. 

During the process of filliug, the ensilage should be kept level, and 
well trodden. A horse may be used very effectively for the latter. 
Some attach much importance to rapid filling, while others make it 
more a matter of convenience. With the packing equally thorough, rapid 
filling is probably best. 

10. — COST OF FILLING THE SILO. 

The cost, from field to silo, is variously reported, from 35 cents — and 
in a single instance 10 or 12 cents — for labor alone, to $2 and upwards 
per ton : though the higher amounts include "the entire cost of the croj), 
not the harvesting alone. There is a general expectation that experi- 
ence will bring a considerable reduction in the cost of filling. 

It is probable that, with a more general adoption of ensilage, the best 
machinery will be provided by men who will make a business of filling 
silos. This could hardly fail to lessen the cost and bring the benefits of 
the svstem within the reach of manv who otherwise would not begin. 



8 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

17. — TIME FROM FILLING TO OPENING SILO. 

The ensilage should remain under pressure at least until cool, and be 
uncoveied after that when wanted. 

18. — CONDITION OF ENSILAGE WHEN OPENED. 

In nearly all cases the loss by decay was very slight, and confined to 
the top and sides where there was more or less exj^osure to air. 

19. — DETEEIOEATION AFTER OPENING. 

Generally the ensilage has kept perfectly for several months, showing 
no deterioration while any remained in the silo, excepting where ex- 
posed for a considerable time. It is better to uncover a whole silo, or 
compartment of a silo, at once, and thus expose a new surface each day, 
than to cut down sections. 

20. — VALUE OF ENSILAGE FOR MILCH COWS. 

Ensilage has been fed to milch cows more generally than to any other 
class of stock, and no unfavorable results are reported. There can be 
little doubt that its greatest value will always be found in this connec- 
tion. Several feeders consider it equal in value to one-third of its Aveight 
of the best hay, and some rate it higher. 

21. — EFFECTS ON DAIRY PRODUCTS. 

There is a marked increase in quantity and improvement in quality of 
milk and butter after changing from dry feed to ensilage, corresponding 
with the effects of a similar change to fresh pasture. A few seeming 
exceptions are noted, which will probably find explanation in defects 
easily remedied, rather than in sueli as are inherent. 

22. — VALUE FOE OTHER STOCK. 

Ensilage has been fed to all classes of farm stock, including swine and 
poultry, with results almost uniformly favorable. Exceptions are noted 
in the statements of Messrs. Coe Bros., and Hon. C. B. Henderson, where 
it appears that horses were injuriously affected. It should be borne in 
mind in this connection that ensilage is simply forage preserved in a 
silo, and may vary as much in quality as hay. The ensilage that is best 
for a milch cow may be injurious to a horse, and that on which a horse 
would thrive might render a poor return in the milk-pail. 

23.— DAILY RATION OF ENSILAGE. 

Cows giving milk are commonly fed 50 to 00 pounds, with some dry 
fodder and grain. 

24.— METHOD OF FEEDING. 

Experiments have been made in feeding ensilage exclusively, and re- 
sults have varied with the quality of ensilage and the stock fed. It is 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 9 

certain that ensilage of corn cat while in blossom, or earlier, is not alone 
suflticient for milch cows. It is best to feed hay once a day, and some 
grain or other rich food, nnless the latter is supplied in the ensilage, as 
it is when corn has reached or passed the roasting-ear stage before cut- 
ting. Ensilage, as it is commoidy understood, is a substitute for hay 
and coarse fodder generally, and does not take the place of grain. 

25. — THE CONDMION OF STOCK FED ON ENSILAGE, 

both as to health and gain in weight, has been uniformlj^ favorable. 

26. — PROFITAELENESS OF ENSILAGE. 

There is hardly a doubt expressed on this point — certainly uot a dis- 
senting opinion. 

Eemarks. — The general use of ensilage must depend largely on its 
cheapness. Costly silos and expensive machinery must always be in- 
surmountable obstacles to a majority of farmers. For this reason, ex- 
perience tending to show what is essential to the preservation of fodder 
in silos, is of the lirst imi)ortance. 

Especial attention is invited to the earth silos mentioned in the state- 
ment of Francis Morris, esq., of Oakland Manor, Md. INIr. Morris is a 
pioneer in ensilage in America, his first silos having been built, and 
filled, in 1870. These were in the basement of his barn, walls of masonry. 
The next year lie made a trencli in sloi^iiig ground so that a cart could 
be backed in at the lower end for conveying ensilage to the feeding-room. 
The sides are sloi)ing an<l the average depth does not exceed six feet. 

The cost is simply the cost of digging a ditch of similar dimensions. 
This trench was filled in 1877 and regularlj^ since, and has kept its con- 
tents perfectly. Mr. Morris has several silos of the same kind, in dif- 
ferent places, for convenience in filling. He nses a large cutter driven 
by a steam engine, and packs in the silo b}' treading with horses. The 
filling is carried several feet above the surface of the ground, and rounded 
up at the center, the excavated earth serving to confine the ensilage. 
The covering is first roofing-felt, then earth for weight. 

Mr. Morris has i)ut in whole fodder and it has kept perfectly. He cuts 
it fine, mainly for convenience in handling and feeding. Whole fodder 
should be laid across, rather than lengthwise in the trench, so that it can 
be taken out easily. 

In order that the extent of Mr. Morris' operations may be understood, it 
is proper to add that his estate of Oakland Manor comprises about 1,700 
acres. His wheat crop this year, 1882, was 5,000 bushels, and his corn 
is expected to reach the same figures. The meadows yield upwards of 
200 tons of hay annually. The stock consists of 50 horses and mules, 
100 cattle, 500 sheep, and 50 hogs. And as the whole is managed on 
business principles, Mr. Morris very justly esteems his earth silos of 
primary importance. 



APPENDIX. 



The following statements have been furnished, in response to eu(iuiries of the Depart- 
ment, by men who have built and tilled silos and fed ensilage. The numbers indicate 
topics which are arranged in the same order as iu the schedule of <|uestions: 

Samuel Adams, CoUlhrook SprUujs, Mass. : 

I. Adjoining barn. 

3. 36 X 16 feet; depth, 12 feet. 

4. Stone wall faced with cement. 

6. 900 pounds stone to the square yard. 

7. About $300. 

8. Corn. 

10. When the blossom begins to fall. 

II. 25 tons. 

12. Prefer Blount's on account of riuautity. 
14. Cut f inch. Used steam. 

16. About 75 cents. 

17. Two mouths. 

18. Color changed to brown, but iu good condition where pro^jerly weighted. 

20. The most economical feed we can raise; value one-third of good hay. 

21. I saw no bad effects on stock or product. 

23. 60 x>ounds per day. 

24. For milch cows I should feed 50 pounds ensilage, 10 pounds hay; if shorts were 
not too high, would feed two quarts per day, and if the dairy product was in demand 
would give a little meal of some kind. 

25. Oxen and young stock showed a good gain in growth and health. 

26. I wintered 43 head of stock where I usually had 35. Have sold $200 worth ot 
hay and still have 5 tons left; but I am convinced we have something yet to learn. 

E. Allen, New Brunswick, X. J.: 

1. Adjoining and opening into. 

2. Kectangular, with 6 inches of corners cut off from top to bottom. 

3. Two compartments, each 13 x 19 feet, and 19 feet deep. 

4. Concrete, one part Rosendale cement to four and a half of sharp, gravelly sand, 
wet with heavy white-wash, made by slacking quick-lime under water two days pre- 
vious to using. All the field stone that can be put in are embedded iu the cement in 
the well. 

6. Field stone, 150 pounds to square foot. 

7. About $"250, exclusive of roof. 

8. Corn. 

9. Sow with grain drill, two rows at once, three feet four inches apart. Cultivate 
to keep ground loose and free from weeds. 

10. Wheu the kernel is iu the milk. 

12. Blount's Prolific. Further trial necessary. 

14. Cut f inch. Cutter ruu by a two-horse tread- j)Ower. 

11 



12 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

15. Carried from cutter into silo witli elevator, two meu in silo to level and tread. 

16. About 7.5 cents per ton, including cutting in the field and carting. 

17. Six weeks. 

18. Top, -J to 1 inch imperfect; below appeared like cooked fodder; smell of New 
Orleans molasses; seemed perfect. 

20. Think it better than any other kind of fodder. Cows prefer it to brewer's grain. 
•21. It makes rich milk, more wholesome for children than grass milk. 

23. 40 pounds per head per day. 

24. Mix with 5 or 6 pounds of mill-feed, or 3 jwuuds of corn, or cotton-seed meal 
with 2 or 3 pounds of wheat shorts or bran. 

25. Cattle take on flesh rapidly ; keep in good condition as to health and flesh. 

26. Believejeusilaging the best and cheapest mode of preparing or preserving corn- 
fodder. 



Jasox Allen, CoJdbrook S^irings, Alass.: 

I. Opening into basement of baru, 4 feet above bottom of silo. 

3. 28 X 12 feet, mason work 11 feet high, with 4 feet of wood on top. 

5. Plank. 

6. Six inches of stone. 

7. $32L51, including everything. 

8. Corn. 

9. Light soil ; inverted sod ; on one acre 15 loads of barn-yard manure, and 250 
pounds of phoshate. Drilled seed half bushel per acre ; rows 3 feet apart ; harrowed 
twice with smoothiug harrow, after this went through with horse-hoe once in seven 
or eight days until corn was 4 feet high. Two acres more had same cultivation with- 
out barn-yard manure. 

10. When the latest is in full bloom, and the most forward has ears well formed. 

II. Ou three acres 47 tons ; on the one acre Avith barn-yard manure, 20 tons, and on 
the other two acres, 27 tons. 

12. The largest kind of southern corn. 

14. Cut thiee-fourths of an inch long; used a one-horse tread-power. 

16. Cost of raising and|8toring three acres (4/ tons) of ensilage com. 

Plowing three acres §9. 00 

Harrowing 3. 00 

Commercial fertilizers 20. 00 

Fifteen loads of manure, one-half charged to the corn 15. 00 

Planting 4.50 

Seed-corn 5. 00 

Replanting i 3.00 

Harrowing twice 3. 00 

Hoeing by hand G. 00 

Cultivating by hand 3. 00 

Use of land 8.00 

Kaising crop 79. 50 

Cutting and storing in silo 47. 75 

Whole cost $127. 25 

Co.st per ton $2. 70 

17. Six weeks. 

18. About 2 inches on top was moldy ; below this was very natural in appearance, 
slightly warm and a trifle acid. 

19. The warmth disappeared, and it gi'ew a trifle more acid for about six weeks; 
after this I could see no change. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 13 

20. Three tons of ensilage equals one ton of best English hay. 
21.- Good. 

22. I have had no experience, except with horned cattle and pigs. It is of small 
value for pigs. 

23. 60 pounds of ensilage, with C> pounds of grain for an average-sized cow per day. 

24. From the 10th of November to the 10th of January', I fed 4.5 pounds of ensilage 
and 5 pounds of hay; from the 10th of January to the 10th of Maxch, GO pounds of 
ensilage and 4 pounds of middlings to dry stock, and 2 pounds more to milch cows; 
from the 10th of March until May 1, 60 pounds of ensilage, one foddering of oat straw, 
and 6 pounds of grain to cows in milk. 

25. Good, both in weight and health. 

26. Very profitable, all things considered. 



George H. Ajies, Dracut, Mass.: 

I. Connected with barn, opposite cattle. 

3. 30 X 12 feet, 14 feet deep. 

4. 18 inches thick cemented wall, one-third cement, two-thirds sand. 

5. Hay and plank. 

6. Stone 2 feet thick on plank. 

7. !|225. 

8. Corn and oats. 

9. Plant by hand, grains 2 to 3 inches apart, iu rows; cultivate twice. 

10. Just as it leaves the milk period. 

II. 20 to 30 tons; 30 tons a large yield. 

12. Mammoth sweet corn, and southern Dent. 

13. Nearly one-half. 

14. Cut one-half inch in length. Horse-iiower. Cut 20 tons per day. 

16. 75 cents to $1 for a farmer. 

17. Six to eight weeks. 

18. Fermented, and tart smell, nothing unpleasant. 

19. Not any, if used daily. 

20. About two-fifths the value of good English hay. 

21. Are better with hay and grain than without it. 

22. About one-third the value of English hay. 

23. 40 to 50 pounds. 

24. Hay and grain night and morning, ensilage at noon. 

25. Fed alone, not as good as English hay. 

26. Consider corn a profitable crop to raise for ensilage, and the best and cheapest 
way to cure it for winter use is to ensilage it. Cattle like it. If good corn meal, 
or good English hay, or ensilage, is given them at the same time, they prefer ensilage, 
then meal and hay. It takes the place of roots,and is raised much easier and cheaper. 
I think all New England farmers should have silos, filled with good ensilage, for winter 
use. 



Edward Atkinson, Boston, Mass.:. 

1. In root cellar, adjacent to feeding room. 

3. Two, each 7 x 6^ x 8 feet deep, curb 4 feet above the silo. 

4. Stone three sides, one side brick, and partition of brick. 

5. Two thicknesses of 2-inch plank. 

6. Stone iu barrels, 120 pounds per foot. 

7. Cost about $130, but no criterion for others. 

8. Corn and clover. 
10. In flower. 



14 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

14. Hand-cutter. 

17. Two moutlis. 

18. Good. 

19. Very little at edges of top. 

20. A, No. 1. 

21. Increase in quantity, better quality. 
24. With some meal and rowen. 

2b. Excellent. 

26. Saving of time, cost, and laljor. 



A. C. Ayer, LoweU, Mass. : 

I. Opposite cattle, in bay of barn. 

3. 36 X 14 X 12 feet deep. 

4. Twenty inches split stone, 4 inches cement. 

5. Plank cover, 

6. Twenty-five tons of stone. 

7. ,$250. 

8. Corn. 

10. When the corn is in blossom. 

II. Thirty tons. 

12. Southern Dent. 

13. No comparison. 

14. Horse-power with cutter, corn cut J inch long. 

16. 75 cents to $1 i)er ton. 

17. Twenty to twenty-five days. 

18. Prime condition. 

19. No loss. 

20. One half the price of English hay. 

21. Improves flavor and color. 

22. One half the price of English hay. 

23. 60 pounds per head, per day. 

24. Good either way ; for dairy results, prefer grain with ensilage. 

25. Condition as good as those fed ou English hay. 

26. The cheapest feed for cattle. I do not believe New England farmers can compete 
with their neighbors who feed ensilage, with any other kind of feed, for either dairy 
cattle or young stock. There is no substitute for corn ensilage, for economy. 

H. A. Bartow «fe Sons, PUUfieJd, Mass. : 

I. Three silos adjoining end of barn and opening on a level with stables. 

3. Each 15 x 10 feet, 16 feet deep. Capacity of each silo 60 tons of green fodder. 

4. Concrete walls, made of cement, gravel, and small stones; thickness, 20 inches. 

6. Stone, from 75 to 100 pounds per square foot. 

7. Our three silos cost $300, $100 each. 

8. Eye, sweet corn, and rowen. 

9. We sow 2 bushels rye to the acre ; after cutting the rye we jilaut the same ground 
with corn iu rows. 

10. Rye when just ready to bloom, corn iu the milk. The sweet corn when taken 
out to feed was as milky as when put iu. 

II. The amount of fodder per acre depends upon the richness and cultivation of the 
soil; from 20 to 30 tons per acre iu Berkshire County would be a fair estimate. Rye, 
9 tons to the acre, 

12. Large evergreen sweet corn. 

13. We have not planted any but sweet corn for the last ten years; we keep a dairy 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 15 

and are satisfied that sweet corn for tliat purpose is very much the best. We have 
always fed it with ears ou the stalk when green. With the silo we have it all green 
and no waste. 

15. The fodder should be cut and put into the silo as soon as possible after being 
cut iu the field. Our rye was cut with a reaper for |l per aero, with two men to 
bind, one man with team, and two wagons, and three men at silo. We put in 35 tons 
u tw.) days and th3 weights on, everything complete. 

16. .The rye crop, including cost of seed, cultivating, putting in silo, &c., would 
not exceed, at high prices for help, $1.25 per ton. 

17. About two months; longer might be better. 

18. Good condition ; our cows enjoy it. 

19. Not any; good until used up. 

20. We prized it very much; so did the cows. 

21. We never had so good a flow of milk in the winter. 

22. All stock lilve it; we fed it to young stock, horses, hogs, and poultry. 
2'3. Twenty-five pounds is a good feed for a cow. 

^4. As we had a limited quantity, last year, we fed but once a day; should we have 
plenty of ensilage would feed twice a day, 25 pounds each time, with a little hay at 
noon, say 5 pounds, and as much grain as, in the judgment of the feeder, is required 
to put on fiesh or produce a better (juality of milk for butter. 

25. All iu a healthy condition ; young stock will thrive on ensilage without any 
grain. 

26. We have resorted to root crops for the last five years; we liked tlicm very much, 
but ensilage is better; it does not cost near as much in labor and fertilizers, and gives 
better results. 



H. R. Barker, Loicdl, Matm.: 

I. Adjoining feeding-rooms; tox" on same level as floor. 

3. Two silos, 22 x 11 feet, 12 feet deep, and one silo 22 x 15 feet, 12 feet deep. 

4. Concrete, four parts sand, 1 part cement; walls 18 inohes thick, corners rounded. 

5. Hay, or straw, 1 foot thick, a covering of sheathing paper on top of hay, and 
2-inch plank laid on that. 

6. 25 tons to each silo, (200 pounds per square foot), either stone or grain, laid even- 
ly over the surface. If stone, one foot thick. 

7. Three silos cost $600. 

8. Corn, oats, rye, clover, and meadow-grass. 

9. Corn, in drills, 3^ feet apart — three pecks to the acre. 

10. Cut when in bloom. 

II. Corn, 30 tons per acre; rye and oats, 6 to 8 tons. 

12. Have used southern white, and Stowidl's evergreen sweet. 

13. Consider the sweet corn more valuable than field varieties. 

14. Fodder is cut in pieces I inch long. Cutter driven by a 4-horse-power engine. 

15. As the silo is being filled, the fodder is well trodden. 

16. .fl.90 

17. Four to six weeks. 

18. Green, with alcoholic odor; no loss ou sides, and not more than half an inch ou top . 

20. Corn and oat ensilage more valuable than any other feed used, with the excep- 
tion of grain, for milch cows. 

21. Makes more milk and beliter butter than any dry feed. 

22. Valuable for hogs and fowls; have not used it for horses. 

23. 45 pounds per day, for cows. 

24. Fed with shorts, 6 quarts per day, and from 1 to 3 quarts per day of corn meal, 
together with 8 pounds of hay. 

25. Stock iu good condition, with a gain in weight, and good health. 



16 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

26. More profitable tliau any feed used. My experience has been most satisfactory 
with all the grasses except meadow, which I do not consider worth using. 

Fred. Bartlett, Shreivsburi/, Mass.: 

I. Silo 12 feet from barn. 

3. 12 X 20 X 12 feet deep ; feet below and fi feet above ground. 

4. Concrete, 12 inches thick. 

5. Hay, 3 inches thick, and planks. 

6. Stones, 200 pounds to the square j'ard ; shall put on 300 pounds the coming season. 

7. $160. 

8. Stowell's evergreen sweet corn. 

10. As soon as it commences to silk out, but I am not (piite sure ; it may be as valu- 
able when the corn is in millc. 

II. 10 tons. 

12. I have planted southern corn this year. 

13. There seems to be more acid in sweet corn ensilage than in ensilage of larger 
corn. 

14, 15. My corn was cut by two men in the field, who laid it in little bunches so it 
could be liauded to the teamster who was loading, while the other team was at the 
silo unloading. Used steam-power for cutting ; two men in silo leveling and treading. 

16. It cost 7.5 cents per ton to put my corn into the silo. 

17. Three mouths. 

18. 2 inches on top, not good, and a little around the edge. 

19. The ensilage kept in good condition for about a month, and then the bottom 
smelt very badly, from a liquid which I took to be the juice of the corn, l)ut found it 
to be water which had leaked in. I lost 4 or 5 tons in this way. 

20. Very good. 

21. The milk was ric^h as .Tune milk. 

22. Fed some ensilage to my horses, but do not thiuk much of it for them. 

23. From 30 to 60 pounds. 

24. Generally, 30 pounds of ensilage, 2 qmirts of cotton -seed meal, and what hay 
they wanted. 

2.5. My stock look as well as ever they did ; healthy and in good condition. 
26. All things considered, there is profit in ensilage for the farmer. 

C. B. Beale, Xorfolk, Va. : 

I. Silo 30 yards distant from feeding room. 

3. 20 X 30 ifeet, 12 feet deej). 

4. 2-inch ])ine boards, tongued and grooved for sides, concrete bottom; .5 feet aVtove 
ground and 7 feet below. 

.5. 2-inch pine boards, two thicknesses. 

6. Stones. 

7. Total cost of roof, silo, and drainage, about §.500. 

8. Corn. 

9. Rows 4 feet apart, stalks from 6 to 9 inches in the drill ; gave it two harrowings 
and one plowing. 

10. Cut my corn just as it passed the roasting-ear state. 

II. Not exceeding 15 tons per acre. 

12. U.sed common southern white flint. ' 

14. Cut from ^ to 4 inches long. 

15. Did not fill more than two feet per day. 

17. Finished filling August 20, 1681; opened November 14, 1881. 

18. I put about 2 feet of millet, rather ripe, on my fodder. The millet was mouldy 
for 2 or 3 inches: fodder perfectly sound. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 17 

19. At first I only removed about 5 feet of the covering, aud cut out the ensilage to 
the bottom. The edges began to decay; I then removed whole of covering and fed 
from the top, aud experienced no further trouble. 

20. I estimate that I saved about one-third of the cost of feeding, compared with the 
old way. 

21. The flow of milk was fully equal to the best winter feeding, and the expense 
' much less. 

24. Fed always in connection with other feed, mixing with ship-stuft", corn-bran, 
and corn-meal, morning and night, and giving a good feed of hay at noon. This I 
regard absolutely necessary to obtain the greatest success, both as to quantity of milk 
and condition of cows. 

26. I believe it to be both cheaper and more i)rofitable than our okl style of winter 
feeding. The best results came from feeding in connection with x^eanut vines that 
had a great many peanuts on them. I obtained more milk and of better quality than 
when I fed corn-meal and ship-stuff. 



E. P. Benedict, Neiv York City, X. Y. : 

I. Silo 10 feet below and 2 feet above ground, adjoining cattle-shed. 

3. 23 X 12 feet, 12 feet deej). 

4. Walls of brick, 12 inches thick, laid iu cement; l)ottom one layer of brick and 
2 inches cement over. 

5. li-inch pine plank in sections of four plank, battened and bolted together, bat- 
tens extending out 2i inches to make all settle evenly. 

(■). Weighted with 50 barrels vinegar, of whicli we had a large quantity convenient 
in same building; about 80 pounds to square foot. 

7. Cost of brick, cement, lime, and labor, $275. About §75 of above amount was for 
labor iu excavating aud removing dirt. 

8. Corn. 

9. Rows 3 feet 3 inches apart, and thinned out to 8 inches in row; manured in row, 
and cultivated twice. 

10. When ears are in silk, but not so far advanced as to have the grain formed on 
the cob. 

II. Sixteen tons to acre, estimated. 

12. Have not experimented with difierent varieties; am satisfied to plant same kind 
as last year, viz. southern white. 

14. Cut in 1-inch lengths. 

15. Cutter stands on wall of silo, so that fodder as cut falls directly into silo; cutter 
run by sweep horse-power; same that we use for cider-mill. 

16. No estimate, but about same labor as in cutting up and husking of mature corn 
per acre. 

17. Two months. 

18. Somewhat faded iu color, slightly vinous in smell, and acid in taste; juicy; no 
mould or decay. 

19. The last section was fed out about 25th of April, and seemed to have improved 
with age. 

20,2.1. We fed but two milch cows; both increased materially in flow of milk when 
we began feeding ensilage, aud continued milking well through the winter. 

23. Kept no account of weight, but fed them all they wanted. 

24. We fed to our young stock ensilage and dry stalks; to milch cows, ensilage and 
hran ; and to one bull, ensilage alone. 

25. Our stock never wintered better; young stock came out this spring in good flesh 
aud remarkably smooth-coated; cows came in safely, with a better flow of milk than 
in former years. Our Holstein bull, "Lord Nelson," was fed from December 1 to Feb- 
ruary 10, exclusively on ensilage. He gained iu weight from 1,385 to 1,445 pounds. 

2SIL 



18 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

2Q. Can only answer by comparison. We consider one acre of corn-ensilage eqnal 
to 4 acres of hnsked corn and stalks for feeding young stock and wintering dry cows, 
(we are not dairymen and cannot say as to milk production). The cost of making 
corn-ensilage per acre would not differ materially from the cost per acre of growing 
and husking corn, gathering stalks, and housing the same. 

Kemarks. — Altliongh in onr first year's experience witli ensilage we have failed to 
realize the wonderful results of Goffart, Bailey, and other writers on the subject, we 
have also failed to hud one single valid objection to the silo as an economical means 
of preserving fodder, or to ensilage itself as food for cattle. We intend this season to 
make a few minor alterations in our plans and methods. We will plant very mnch 
thicker in the rows, so as to have a greater proportion of leaf to stalk, and will not 
allow the corn to mature as mnch as we did last season. We intend to add very ma- 
terially to the weight, increasing it to 150 ponnds tothe square foot. We will continue 
to use barrels for weighting the silo, as we think them by far easier to move and handle 
than anything else of same weight. We are now filling a lot of condemned cider bar- 
rels witji sand, to put on our silo, end up, as first layer, and then roll on top of them 
a layer of cider or vinegar. We propose to use an additional cover made of 1-inch spruce 
boards, to be put on when the silo is half full, and then till the silo on top of this. 
The object of this is, that when we feed out we will only expose to the air a wall of 
ensilage six feet in height. As the ensilage is fed out from the top section the barrels 
will be lowered down to second cover, thus continuing the weight. 



AV. B. Bensox, Cardhial, Canada : 

I. Adjacent to and connected with feeding rooms. 

3. Four silos, each 21) feet 6 inches by KJ fe(;t 3 inches. One 34 feet l)y IG feet 3 
inches ; depth 20 feet .5 inches. 

4. Stone wall, with mortar of sand, and water lime, 12 feet d inches high, double 
boards and plank 7 feet 9 inches higher to roof. 

5. Plank 16 feet long, 2 inches thick, crossed with short pieces 4 feet long, so that 
we can uncover 4 feet at once. 

6. Loose stones of a convenient size for handling, to the depth of about 2 feet. 

8. Corn and sorghum. 

9. 3 feet apart, harrowed several times, and cultivated as long as a horse can walk 
between the rows. 

II. About 15 tons. 

14. Cut corn about half an inch long. Used steam power. 

15. Took about tliree days to fill each silo, having men and bo^'s spreatling and 
treading it. 

16. Cost too much, probably $1 per ton. Hope to manage better this year. 

18. About 8 inches of it damaged near the top, (but the sheep ate a good part of it), 
and about 4 inches next the boards, above the stone woi'k, was not very good, but the 
rest was highly relished by the stock. 

19. Cut down about 4 feet in width at a time, going from top to bottom, leaving the 
plank and stones on the rest. No perceptible deterioration. 

20. Prefer it to anything I have yet tried. 

21. Could not detect any particular taste, either in the milk or butter. 

22. The steers that I fattened put on llesh rapidly, as the ensilage seemed to pre- 
vent them from getting feverish. The thoroughbred stock also liked it well, and 
their coats handled well. 

23. The milch cows got about 50 pounds per day, the steers 40 pounds, and the 
thoroughbred stock from 25 to 30 pounds. 

24. Fed the milch cows with oat straw part of the time once, and part of the time 
twice a day, giving them lots of it, and bedding them with what is left. Mixed bran 
and cotton-seed meal with the ensilage. The I'attenning cattle had a little hay, but 
preferred the ensilage mixed with ground oats, cotton-seed meal, and bran. 



SILUS AND ENSILAG' . 19 

25. Most satisfactory in all respects. 

20. Am so Avell pleased with it that this year I have planted al acres of corn, and 
I hope to mix some clover with a part of it : as I put it into the silo. 



.1 NO. P. Bent, Mai/nard, M<iss.: 

I. The silo joins the barn, with a door opening iuto the feeding room. Abont half 
the depth of the silo is below thi* lloor of the feeding room. 

:?. 40 X 16 X 17 feet deep. 

4. 9 feet of the walls are stone ceiaented on the inside, and the remainiug 8 feet con- 
crete and stones. One side is a bank wall, the gronnd being gra<led to the top. 

5. H-iuch plank. 

(i. Stones, abont 1 foot in deptli. 

7. $475, inclnding the l)uiiding abov(^ silo. 

8. Coin. 

10. When in full blossom. 

II. 20 tons to the acre. 

12, 13. I think I can raise twice as many tons of southern white as of sweet corn. 
14. It was cut into pieces about 5 of an inch long, using steam power. 

16. $1.25. 

17. 60 days. 
18,19. It kept well. 

20. I think 2 tons of ensilage equal in value to 1 ton of stock hay. 

21. The milk is as good as when the cows are fed on hay. 

22. Ecjually as good for other stock as for milch cows. 

23. About 40 pounds per day. 

24. They had one foddering of hay per day, with brewer's grains. 

25. Mj' stock look as well, ami are in as good health as they have been for twenty 
years. 

26. If I had not a silo now I would build one as soon as possible. 

Otis Bishek, roiKjhkcepsie. N. Y. : 

1. The top of the silo is even with a plateau, the bank descending 50 feet to the 
stable, and very steep. The ensilage is taken out by a hoisting apparatus over the 
top of the stone wall, and carried in a car on a gently descending grade into a small 
house, built on the roof of the stable, where the bottom falls out, and the ensilage 
drops to the floor over the stable. 

3. 'Double ; 7 and 8 feet w.ide, respectively, by 24 x 15 feet deep. 

4. Stone. Outside walls dry, 30 inches thick at the bottom, and 20 at the top. 
Division wall 20 inches, laid in cement, and all walls plastered with cement. The 
w^alls were built by masons, in accordance with their notions of fitness, with the re- 
sult of an extravagant cost. Above the silo walls is a cui-b of matched boards, 6 feet 
high for settling room — of course, a roof covers the whole. 

5. Hemlock plauks. 

6. Stone, 14 inches thick and earth banked at ends of plank. 

7. Between $700 and $800. 

9. Plant in drills 30 inches apart ; harrow when small, and afterwards keep the 
gronnd stirred with cultivator. 

10. I cut when the blossom appeared on the tassel. I found iu the bottom of both 
silos a large ((uantity of the juice, which I was obliged to bale out. On this account 
I think I shall hereafter let the croj) go farther towards maturity. 

11. Last year I planted in drills 4 feet apart, and got about 14 tons per acre. This 
year I am planting much thicker. It appears to me that the maximum crop cannot 
be much greater than 30 tons per acre. Several stalks of my last year's crop weighed 
gi (eight and a ([uarter) xionuds each, and the general growth was quite uniform. 



20 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

12. I plant the soutbern horsetooth variety. 

14. Tlie longer bits of stalks are tbe ones not eaten, if any part is left. Inference — 
it is best to cut the stalks into short pieces. We cut f of an inch. 

15. The corn from the field is cut on the upper grade, and descends into the silo till 
the top is reached, when the curb is filled with tbe shovel. It is expedient, when 
nearly full, to alternate, so as to give time to settle. A covering of six inches will con- 
trol the surface heat. AVhen packing we tread it all we can, but depend more on the 
natural settling. 

16 Corn, $2 per ton. Draw it 1^ miles. 

17. Thirty-three days. 

Id. Spoiled 2 inches deep from top. 

19. Exposure to air destroys the surface — slowly in cold weather, more rapidly in 
warm. 

2U. Am now, June 30th, feeding corn ensilage to four cows, and it is the only fodder 
fed except grain. Cows that ate nothing but ensilage through April and May are in 
the finest condition. 

21. Not so good as tender grass — better than bay. 

22. For young cattle, good for growth and thrift; for fattening cattle, excellent; 
for some horses good, and for others not good. 

24. Corn meal and wheat bran, eiinal parts by weight, or something equivalent, 
should supplement the ensilage. 

25. My cattle and one horse have sleek coats, look healtliy about the eyes, and bear 
the general appearance of thrift ; another horse 1 never succeeded with. 

26. Must depend on circumstances ; where the silo is near the crop, I can't see how 
it can fail to be profitable. Even with the disadvantage of having the crop raised at 
a distance, I think I realize returns for all I ex])eud, and more. It seems to me that 
chemical analysis reaches only a part of the whole <iuestiou. The vital forces con- 
cerned in digestion are more important. A mere boy sees the connection existing be- 
tween tiush, tender ])asturage, and full pails of milk. Tell the boy that the tender 
grass is little else than vapor, that such a large per cent, is water, easily procured at 
the brook, that such a small per cent, is ash, that the parts that go to make fat and 
muscle and butter, after the water is removed, are an insignificant amount, and he 
may stare and wonder at your learning, but you will fail to convince him that the 
dried grass is better for milk than the fresh grass in the pasture. Let me add that a 
young child fed on tbe milk of an ensilage-fed cow has no irregularity of the bowels, 
is good uatured, and grows finely. 



D. BooKSTAVKR, Siiracnse, N. Y.: 

I. On level with feeding room, in rear of stable. 

3. Two, each 70 x 16 feet, (depth not stated). 

4. Stone walls, smoothed with cement. 

5. Plank, well fitted. 

6. Bowlders, 500 pounds per square foot. 

7. About $600. 

8. Corn. 

9. Sowed in drills — ordinary cultivation. 

10. When the corn is in the silk, before the kernels glaze. 

II. About 25 tons. 

12. Mammoth sweet corn. 

13. I iirefer the sweet, as it is richer food. 

14. Cut f inch long. 

15. Fodder drops directly into silo — spread and tramped by men and horses. 

16. QiS cents a ton. 

18. Capital order; snielled sweet; cattle ate it ravenously. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 21 

19. No deterioration after opening. 

20. Two tons of ensilage etinal to a ton of good timotlij^ li^y- 

21. It caused an increase of millv, from 1 to 3 quarts, after three days' feeding. 

22. Equally good for horses, colts, sheep, &c. 

23. About 60 pounds a day. 

24. I prefer to feed dry corn, or barley meal, or linseed meal, with it ; it does well 
Avitbout this by feeding hay once a day. 

25. Perfect health, bright eyes, smooth coats, iiud soft skins. 

20. The most profitable food ever used. I made some experiments last winter in 
feeding a heifer, cow, mare with foal, weanling colt, and an old trotting horse. Cut 
timothy and clover hay, mixed in a large box with an equal amount of ensilage, add- 
ing a little corn meal, coarse bran, and shorts, and allowing the feed for the morning 
to remain over night, and again preparing in the morning for night. All were wild 
for their feed, and never left a spoonful to waste. A colt of the same age of mine, 
larger, and by many considered the best of the two, was fed from the time of taking 
up, in the old way, aa ith hay given whole, and oats. This spring my colt looked like a 
two-year-old compared with the other, and at a less cost. The cow and heifer did 
equally as well. The old horse came out looking like a colt — his coat was never so 
fine as now, and the mare with foal never did half so well before. 

H. E. Bkown, Thetford Centre, Ft. : 

I. Door opens to feeding room. Bottom of silo 4 feet below basement. 

3. 13 X 18 feet, 11 feet deep. 

4. Stone, pointed with cement ; shall continue with Avood to upper beams of barn . 

5. Plank, 2 inches thick, 

6. Did not weight, owing to pressure of business. 

8. Corn and clover. 

9. Drills 3 feet 4 inches ; cultivated but little. 

II. 20 to 25 tons on land not manured. 

14. Cut some i inch, some | inch. Used one-horse power. 

17. Two months. 

18. Good; to n)y surprise only 3 or 4 inches of top damaged. 

19. Very little." 

20. Two tons better than one ton of good hay. 

21. Especially good. 

23. Being short of ensilage, only fed 30 pounds per head per day, with hay or grain- 

24. Stalks or hay at noon. 

25. Stock did well every way. 
2Q. Decidedly profitable. 



J. B. Brown, .55 Beehnutn street, New York City.: 

The following answers are the sum of practical experience, collected from exami- 
nation of many silos : 

1. Preferably on sloping ground, so that the discharge door may be on level with 
feeding room, and so that a car may be used from silo to manger. 

2. Oblong or elliptic, but not important. 

3. Immaterial, but economy in depth. 

4. Concrete is better than stone, which is liable to be damp ; wooden walls above 
ground sufficiently strong to bear pressure, not necessarily air tight, and do not need 
to be double, or lined ; earth pits, well surface-drained, are in some soils as good as is 
necessary. 

5. Immaterial, so that there be continuous pressure on the whole. 

6. Whatever is cheapest; cord-wood, sacks of earth or grain, barrels of earth, casks 
of water, or stone. 



22 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

7. From 20 cents to $1 per tou of conteuts. Cheap silos xireserve as well as expen- 
sive ones; it is only a question of durability. 

8. Maize and grass for cattle ; also rye, oats, and peas for horses and sheep, even 
Canada thistles and salt meadow grass. 

9. Corn, in double rows, space 2 or '^ feet ; space between kernels in rows not yet 
settled. 

10. Not, as the Freucli advise, in the flowering, but to have the sweetest and greatest 
nutriment when the fruit is in the milk ; this is a point of great importance ; must be 
careful to anticipate any fading of the leaves. 

11. 86 tons of maize have been raised on an acre : 100 tons may be raised on an acre ; 
average of good seasons, 40 tons ; average of bad seasons, 20 tons. 

12. Southern seed produces much the larger crops, and the more tropical the greater 
the growth. 

13. Sweet corn, having been cultivated for the grain, is not best for ensilage, as 
the stalk is not large enough. 

14. Three-eigliths to three-fourths inch is best length to cut, and as keenly as iiossi- 
ble, not shredded or mashed as is best for dry stalks. Cutting-machines should not be 
liable to injury from stones, and the revolving apparatus should not turn towards 
operator; elevators or carriers maybe used to convey cut stalks to silo, and uncut 
stalks to feed rollers of machine, if it is important to economize labor. 

15. Not important to be in a hurry when tilling silo, except to save cost; if trampled 
every morning it will not heat sufliciently to injure it, even if the process of tilling 
consume a month, with intervals of days. 

16. Thirty-six cents per ton is the lowest cost as yet by hired labor; in this case the 
silo was convenient to the crop, and the machinery was powerful and efdcient — strong- 
engine and large cutter, with high speed. 

17. Two months at least; the longer the better. 

18. Always good when the crop is good, and when it does not get wet iu the silo by 
leakage ; the silo improves the quality of the material by increasing its digestibility. 

19. Does not deteriorate if the face is changed every day or two; 24 hours' exposure 
diminishes acidity. 

20. Nothing so good as good ensilage. 

21. Improves color of butter, increases quantity and richness of milk, where ensilage 
is good. 

22. Oats, peas, and rye or maize, in moderate quantities, for horses ; also fattens sheep, 
and is economical for hogs, steers, and Ijulls. 

23. 25 to 75 pounds per day, or 5 per cent, of weight of animal ; for horses 21 per cent, 
is sufficient. 

25. Good ensilage in proi)er quantities and varied with dry food at times makes 
healthy, thrifty animals; it must not be too sour; animals will fatten on it alone 
that cannot be fattened with hay or dry stalks alone. 

26. For cows, steers, sheep, and hogs it has been found, without exception, profita- 
ble ; New England cannot do without it. It is a protection from drought iu Nebraska 
and elsewhere; it is a saf\ ty from fire, grasshoppers, ami worms, and, more than all, is 
Aaluable in Texas. 

Col. Le Gkand 15. Cannon, Burliiif/ton, Vt.: 

I. On the same level. 

3. 14 X 45 feet, 15 feet deep, divided by a wooden partition. 

4. Stone, 10 feet; wood, 4 feet. 

7. About §450. 

8. Corn. 

9. Planted in drills, and cultivated three times, the land being well manured. 

10. After the grain has formed on the ear. 

II. By actual weight I harvested on 3 acres 23 tons to the acre; and on 10 other 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 23 

acres about 12 tons to the acre. I think a fair average crop woahl be 15 tons to the 
acre. 

15. The liarvesting, chopi)iug, and tilling, should be done as rajiidly as possible. If 
convenient the silo shouhl be tilled, covered, and weighted in two daj's. 

16. Assuming $15 per acre for manure, $15 per acre for planting and cultivating, 
with a crop of 15 tons to the acre, 75 cents per ton for cutting, drawing, and packing, 
ensilage would cost $2.75 per ton. 

17. Six weeks. 

18. Temperature on opening, about DO-. Condition apparently perfect; fermenta- 
tion vinous, and apparently stopped at that point. 

19. Remained perfect until all had been consumed — about 100 tons. 

22. More than the equal of hay, considering the cost of each. 

23. An average of 85 pounds per head for 3-year-old steers, dailj', for five and a half 
months. 

24. With tluee pounds of grain daily. 

25. Cattle fed as stated in 23 and 24 made a greater gain and were in better health 
and condition than others fed on 20 pounds of chopped hay and 3 pounds of gi'ain. 

2G. I consider ensilage profitable, and believe it is entirely healthy, taking the place 
of roots. It is easily digested, as is shown by the uniform temperature of the animals 
and the condition of the skin and hair. 

Observations. — The claims made by many writers in regard to ensilage are extrava- 
gant; that it has certain advantages cannot be denied. 

First. Not more than 15 to 25 tons can be depended upon per acre. 

Second. It is more certain as a crop than hay. 

Third. Twice as many animals can be kept on the same acreage. 

Fourth. It is largely a substitute for roots. 

Fifth. The labor of feeding ensilage is much less than hay. 

Sixth. The space recpiired to store ensilage is not one-quarter that required for hay. 

Experiment.— I fed 90 three-year-old steers, divided in three lots; cattle and feed 
weighed monthly. 

First lot. Fed 20 pounds hay with three pounds grain daily ; run in yard with shelter. 

Second lot. Kept in warm stable and stanchions; fed 17^ pounds hay, 1 peck man- 
golds, and 3 pounds grain. 

Third lot. Fed 85 pounds ensilage with 3 pounds grain; this lot gained one-quarter 
pound a day more than No. 2, and one-half pound more than lot No. 1. The cost 5 
per cent, in favor of ensilage. 

James S. Chaffee, TVassaic, JSf. Y. : 

I. By the side of and parallel with barn, and so arranged that the ensilage comes 
from the silo to the floor directly over the animals to be fed — the barn being built 
against a side hill, and the silo placed on the upper side. 

3. 50^ X 12* feet, 10 feet deep. 

4. Concrete, of hydraulic cement, gravel, and cobblestones. 

5. l:|-inch spruce plank jdaced crosswise, and fitting loosely to sides of silo. 

6. Stone, 75 pounds to square foot. 

7. $3,50, including roof. 

8. Corn. 

9. Drills, 3 feet apart. 

10. When fully tasseled, and before any of the juices dry up or are gone for the 
formation of the ear. 

II. I have produced from 16 to 30 tons of green corn per acre; should call 20 tons 
an average yield. 

12. Blount's Prolific best; White Southern next. 

14. Cut one-half inch in length; cutter driven by a five-horse steam engine. 



24 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

15. Distribute the ensilage evenly in the silo, and pack as thoroughly as possible, 
putting in from 25 to 30 tons per clay. After it is full put on a few inches of straw and 
place the planks. 

16. 80 cents )ier ton. 

17. Two months. 

18. The ensilage loses its green color, but retains form aud cousistency, with no 
appreciable loss of moisture; has a slightly acid taste and alcoholic smell, with some- 
times a very small loss at top from mould and decay. 

19. None. 

20. It effects a saving of grain and forage, and cows thrive better. 

21. The milk is richer aud much pleasanter to the taste — more like that produced 
from pasture than from hay and grain. 

23. 50 pounds per day to each cow. 

24. Sometiiues alone, birt usually in connection with hay and grain. 

25. A decided gain in llesh, appetite better, hair sleek and glossy, and eyes bright. 
The excellent condition of my stock has attracted the attention and admiration of 
numberless ensilage visitors. 

26. The profitableness of ensilage lies mainly in the fact that it can be made to double 
the stock-carrying capacity of our Eastern farms, aud tliat too at a very small com- 
parative cost. Its advantages to the sale-milk dairymen are incalculable, aud I see no 
reason why they should be less to butter and cheese jiroducers. Dairy farmers who 
have used silos two years have already added 50 per cent, to their former stock. 

Victor Chase, BulloKvilk, Conn. : 
1. In end of stable. 

3. 10 X 14, 10 feet deep ; 8 feet underground. 

4. Stone. 

5. Plank, matched. 

6. Two cords of stone. 

7. .$.50. 

8. Corn. 

9. Plauted in drills. 

13. Sweet corn is best. 

14. Two-horse tread-jiower. 

16. Four men, and two boys, with liorses, in one and a half days filled the silo and 
put the stone on. 

17. Two months. 

18. It was of a brown color, with a little acid taste. 

19. Color changed to a green after Ijeing exposed to the air a few hours. 

21. One-quarter more milk from ensilage than from hay. Good butter, well colored. 

23. Two bushels each. 

24. Two quarts shorts aud one of cornmeal. 

25. Cows came out well. Sold three for beef in the spring. 

26. It will pay; I have three times as nuich this year. 



George L. Clemexce, Sonihhridge, JIass. : 
1. In basement of barn, rising 4 feet above floor of cattle stalls. 

3. 40 X 15 X 17 feet deep; divided into three compartments, each 15 feet long aud 
12 feet wide. 

4. Walls aud floor concrete. 

5. One-and-a-half-inch plank, fitting closely. 

6. Cobblestones to a depth of 18 inches. 

7. §400. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 25 

8. Rye, corn, and clover. 

9. Corn planted ia drills 3 feet apart, 3i pecks per acre, kernels about 4 inclies apart 
in the drill, cultivated with smoothing harrow at intervals of four or live days, and 
once with a horse-hoe. 

10. When in full bloom. 

IL Rye, 10 tons; clover, 8 tons; corn, 25 tons. Owing to severe drought the corn 
did not attain the growth it would in a more favorable season. 

12. White Southern corn. 

13. On account of the immense size of the above-named variety, I consider it worth 
at least one-third more than any of our variety of sweet corn. 

14. I consider it of importance that the crop to be ensilaged should be free from 
dampness, as too much dew or rain will cause putrefaction. Cut into f inch length ; 
cutter driven by a one-horse sweep power. I let clover wilt one day then put into 
the silo without being run through the cutting machine. 

15. The labor of filling my silos is performed by four men and three horses. One 
man cuts the standing crop, another man with two horses loads and carts the fodder to 
the barn, one man feeds it to the cutter, while the fourth man is in the silo treading it 
down. 

16. Careful accounts of the cost of ensilaging my corn and rye make the average 40 
cents per ton ; clover, not being cut into short lengths, cost 25 cents per ton. 

17. Depends on the condition of my pastures and the lateness of the season. 

18. There is a change in the color, yet even this is often very slight; as to feeding 
qualities, I can perceive no loss. 

19. I keep all but one section of the ensilage covered ; there is no perceptible loss. 

20. I have never known it to fail to increase the dow of milk over dry hay of the 
best quality. 

21. As a natural consequence it imparts a taste to the milk and butter analogous to 
that produced by the green grass of our pastures. The milk and butter have more 
body and are richer and better than from the best of English hay. 

22. I cannot sjieak in too high praise of its excellence as food for young stock, 
j)oultry, and swine. 

23. I fed 70 pounds per day to an ordinary sized cow. 

24. My practice is to feed immediately after the morning milking, 25 pounds corn 
ensilage and one ([uart cotton-seed meal; second foddering, 4 pounds of English hay; 
third foddering (12 m.), 20 pounds of clover or rye ensilage ; fourth foddering, 4 pounds 
English hay; fifth foddering (directly after milking), 25 pounds corn ensilage and 1 
quart cornmeal. 

25. Without exception my stock thrived on ensilage. It gives a vigor and healthy 
appearance not seen in hay-fed cattle. 

26. It enables us to make milk and butter in winter as well as in summer, and to 
keej) our stock at one-half the expense of dry fodder. We can keep, on the same 
amount of cultivated land, a much larger stock of cattle, thus increasing our supply of 
manure and the fertilitv and value of our farms. 



A. R. Cleveland, Dallon, Mass. : 

I. Attached to end of cow stable. 

3. .30 X 15 feet, 16 feet deep; one-half above ground. 

4. Concrete, of cement and gravel. 

5. Straw 6 inches deep ; planks 1| inches thick. 

6. Weighted with large stones 2 feet deep. 

7. With the exception of my own work and team, the cost was $308.75. 

8. Corn and Hungarian grass. 
10. When in bloom. 

II. From 20 to 35 tons per acre. 



'26 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

16. About $1 per ton. 

17. Two mouths. 

18. The top was 6 inches of Hmigarian grass, 2 inches of which was a little mouldy. 
The corn sraelled sweet and good ; after standing twenty-four or forty-eight hours, the 
■odor was similar to that of new bread. 

19. It was all uncovered, and being exposed to the air, it smelled and tasted rather 
sour at the last, but the cattle always ate it with a relish. 

20. I think 3 tons of ensilage equal in value to 1 ton of the best timothy hay. 

21. After feeding ensilage one week my six cows gained 12 quarts in their milk per 
<lay; did not gain any more, but held their own. The milk and butter were as good 
as that obtained in June ou good pasture. 

22. Young cattle and sheep ate it with a relish, and in preference to good hay. 

23. (50 pounds per day to each cow. 

24. It was fed at morning and night, 30 poun<ls at a feeding, with a small foddering 
■of hay at noon. I seldom fed it alone, using wheat middlings and cornmeal, half and 
half, 4 ijuarts a day. 

25. As I fed it, my stock improved in flesh and looks, being iu poor condition when 
I commenced feeding. 

2.5. It enables one with a little land to keep a large amount of stock. Last year I 
bought |180 worth of hay; this year I have wintered five more cattle on the same 
land and sold $100 worth of hay. 



CoK I?KOS., West Merideii, Conn.: 

3. Our two silos are each 33 x 14 x 1(5 feet deep. 

4. Walls 18 inches stone and mortar, lined with cement. 

5. 1 foot straw, and boards. 

€. 100 pounds stoue per square foot. 

7. $500. 

'8. Have ensiloed corn, and grass corn and cow peas mixed, with equal success. 

9. Corn sown with grain drill on sod, plowed immediately after mowing. Culti- 
vated with smoothing harrow. 

10. When the ear is in the milk, or earlier. 

11. Largest yield (ascertained by weighing an average square rod), 16 tons per acre. 

12. We have planted the large Southern White corn. 

14. Cut with reaper in field, and used water-i)ower to cut it in one-third-inch pieces. 

16. Estimate, ^1 per ton. 

17. One to three mouths. 

18. Always in good order. 

19. No deterioration after openiiig. 

20. Cows have thriven exceedingly well, whether fed with it alone or with grain, 
in about the quanity used when feeding hay. 

21. Butter and milk from cows fed upon it have the appearance and quality ot the 
same made from grass. 

22. Sheep thrive. Have fed to Inn-ses but once. Last fall we fed a mare and wean- 
ling colt from the same ensilage that we fed to other stock. The colt died after three 
or four days, and the mare after five or six. Symptoms were inability to swallow, 
chewing food and dropping it, holding mouth in water without drinking; and in the 
mare's case, excessive scouring. We attribute it to the ensilage, as our other horses, 
hay and grain fed, were perfectly healthy. 

26. We estimated that our silos paid their cost the first year, though only half filled, 
notwithstanding loss of valuable blooded mare and colt. We have found ensilage 
better feed for cows than clover-hay cut before bloom and "mow browned," which 
was the best fodder that we had ever used before. 



SILOS ANy ENSILAGE. 27 

P. II. CONA^HT, Smithland, Ky. : 

1. Silo located iu aside hill — was I'orniei'ly used as a cistern. Daring feeding season 
we liauled from silo to barn cellar and stable eacli day's feed tlie nigiit before nsiug. 

:]. 12 X 13 X 10 feet. 

4. Stoue cemented, 2 feeb tliick. 

5. Two thicknesses of 1-inch plank, laid so as to break joints. 
(). Rocks, 1-^ feet deep over whole surface. 

8. Corn. 

9. Drilled, ordinary cultivation. 

10. Half-grown fodder, and ears in or just out of the milk, mixed about half of 
•eacii ; cannot estimate value of either — was obliged to cut to save it on account of 
<lrouth. 

12. Large white Southern. 

14 and 15. Cut in half inch pieces. Having a grist mill run by steam power we cut 
corn there, with ensilage cutter, and hauled to the silo. 

17. 90 days. 

18. First class — except about two inches around the outside and over the top. 

19. None at all. 
.20. Good. 

21. Three family cows doubled quantity of milk in two weeks; increase of cream in 
proportion to quantity of milk. 

22. Equally good for mules and horses. 

24. Mixed ten per cent, of mill oft'al — meal, bran, and shorts. Filled rack with good 
timothy hay. Stock ate ensilage in preference. 

25. Condition good. 

26. Paid well. We believe stock can be kept for one-half the cost of any other feed, 
and will latten as much as during months of May or June on grass. 

CiiAHLES T. Cromwell, Bye, N.T. : 

1. I selected a side hill for my first silo, and have a door on the level yai'd where 
the cows are fed. 

3. 9 X 15 X 15 feet deep ; intended to store fodder for four or five cows. 

4. Both of my silos are biiilt under ground. Walls of stone, 18 inches thick, laid up 
and faced with cement. Bottom, concrete. A blind drain extends around the sides. 

5. 2-inch plank. 

6. 8 inches of soil, but don't use sand. Cattle and horses like a little clean soil. 

7. The cost of my silos is not a fair criterion for others who seek utility only. The 
silo I have just finished is built in the field whei"e my cows pasture, for the purpose of 
supplying them with green fodder in the months of July, August, and part of Septem- 
ber, when the grass is dried up. This silo is 6 x8 x 9 feet deep. This silo will cost 
me about $!150. The one constructed last year cost almost .$350. Both are covered by 
ornamental buildings, which add about half of the cost. 

8. My experience leads me to believe that everything of vegetable nature that ani- 
mals will eat, will make useful ensilage. For example, last year I cut up and packed 
away in my silo, 1st, 18 inches of green oats ; 2d, 6 inches of red clover; 3d, 6 inches 
of Canada peas ; 4th, 2 inches of brewer's grains ; 5th, 2 feet of corn, sowed broad- 
cast, more rag-weed than corn in the crop ; fith, 5 inches of common full-grown grass: 
7th, a foot of sorghum ; 8th, corn planted in drills. I spread over every 6 or 9 inches 
a light S2)rinkling of salt, not .so much to preserve the ensilage as to make it more pal- 
atable. The cafctls and horses ate all, including rag-weeds, greedily. 

9. The more manure and the better the tilth, the greater the product. My prefer 
ence is for drill-planting ; I think it wise to sow corn in drills very thick. This gives 
a greater number of stalks, but not so heavy and big as thin planting. 

10. Rye, oats, or corn should, I think, be put to the machine when the grains first 
begin to be in milk ; then they are most succulent and most nutritious. 



28 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

12. The Mammoth Southern corn is best. 

13. Not equal to the above. 

14. My view is that the liner it is cut the more closely will it pack, and it requires 
less mastication. 

15. Tread it while filling, closely as possible, to keep out the air. The ensilage after 
being iu a day became quite warm, so it was not pleasant to keep the hand immersed 
in it. The warmth is only the commencement of fermentation, is arrested as soon as 
covered, and does more good than harm. 

17. Two months. 

18. Excellent, fresh and sweet ; it had changed its color from green to a brownish 
hue. 

10. The last of it moulded slightly on the surface, from want, I think, of keeping the 
silo shut, but my cows ate it all; the mould didn't penetrate a half inch into the ensi- 
lage. 

20. One cow increased her milk from 3 (quarts to 7, and was in good condition for 
the shambles all winter. 

23. A cubic foot each per day. 

24. My custom was to cut out with a hay-knife, each day, enough ensilage to feed 
the cows the next day ; shake it up so as to disintegrate it, and mix a (piart of bran or 

ornmeal for each cubic foot. 

25. My cows were never so healthy or in so good condition as when fed on ensi- 
lage. 

2(1. I look upon ensilage as of the utmost importanc'e to the whole country. 

Dr. L. W. Curtis, Sonthbridge, Mass. : 

I. Should be so located as to open into the stable where cattle are fed. 

3. 20 X 12 feet ; 10, IS, and 22 feet deep. 

4. Sand, gravel, and cement, if out of doors ; in a barn, double-boarding with tarred 
paper between, will do. 

6. One and a half feet deep of stone. 

7. Much depends upon how accessible the materials are. As I have sand, gravel, 
and stone near, it enables me to build cheaply. My three silos, with capacity of 250 
tons, cost $300. 

8. Corn, rye, clover, Hungarian, oats, rowen, and corn stover. 

9. Sow rye in fall after taking off corn ; and corn again in .Tune after cutting the 
rye ; cultivate corn with harrow and horse-hoe. 

10. Clover when just coming into blossom ; rye just after heading; corn and Hun" 
garian when in blossom ; my rowen I put in without cutting ; I also pick ray corn jus* 
as it is glazed, cut the stover and put into silo. It makes good fodder if careful not 
to let it dry. 

II. 40 tons of corn to the acre, and on the same ground 5 to 10 tons of rye. 
12. Large Southern kinds. 

14. Cut corn and rye three-quarters of an inch long— if longer, more pressure is re- 
quired ; I use horse-power. 

16. Fifty cents per ton will do it. 

17. Four to six weeks. 

18. Good; rowen cut when dew was off was very fragrant. 

19. If fed slowly it may become acid on top, nothing more. 

20. Three tons are worth more than a ton of hay. Cattle eat it in preference to hay, 
and give more milk. 

■ 21. Milk is better while feeding ensilage and cotton-seed meal than with hay and 
meal. The butter is like June butter. 

22. All stock like it, and Avitli a little meal, bran, or hay they do better than on 
the best of hay. They do not have to undergo the change from green to dry feed, and 
do nearly as well as at pasture. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 29 

2:5. 25 pounds per feed twice a day. 

•24. With five pounds of bay. When nearly done eating mix some bran or meal 
■with it, and they never leave any. The hay is given at night. A change is desira- 
ble. 

2f). Cows always gain unless in full flow of milk. Stock alwaj's does well. 

26. Silos are profitable. 40 or 50 tons of fodder per acre may be grown, which is 
worth more than 15 tons of hay. I can cure my clover aiul have it as good as when 
cut, and am not afraid of rain. 

W. A. Dodge, Post Mills, Vi.: 

I. Door opens into feeding room. Top even with barn floor. 

3. 24 X 10 X 16 feet deep. 

4. Walls of stone laid in cement 8 feet below floor of basement, and l)rick above. 

5. Plank 3 inches thick and 8 inches wide. 

6. Cobblestones, about fifteen tons. AVe rolled them on, and when we wanted to 
remove them rigged a set of " falls," and lifted them with a horse in a short time. 

7. $300. 

8. Corn. 

9. Planted with drills, 3| feet apart', cultivated the same as for any corn crop. 

10. Fodder is the most valuable when it begins to ear, or the ear is in the milk. 

II. From 20 to 35 tons per acre. 

12. I used the dent or horse-tooth. 

13. Sweet corn is better than common field varieties. 

14. Used a one-horse power; cut f inch. 

15. Put in about 15 tons per day. Kept it well trodden. 

16. 50 cents per ton to put into silo. 

17. 7 weeks. 

18. The straw and about 2 inches on top was damaged ; the remainder in splendid 
conditioii. My stock ate it as though it was so much meal. 

19. None. 

20. A great advantage to milch cows. 

21. No bad effect on butter. 

22. Good for young stock. 

23. 60 pounds to the head. Large cows take more and small ones less. 

24. I fed ensilage and meal to milch cows, and ensilage to heifers and dry cows last 
year, without any other fodder; but I think it better to feed dry fodder once or twice 
a day, 

25. My stock never looked better tkan when fed on ensilage. It lasted till the 1st 
of April ; after that stock fell off in flesh. 

26. All things considered, I am satisfied that it is the most profitable way of winter- 
ing stock in this part of the country. 

Wm. B. Eager, West Point, Nebr. : 

1. Our silos, four in number, requiring five side walls, are located about 1,600 feet 
from the barns, and ensilage is conveyed in wagons. 

3. 40 X 12 feet, 19 feet deep each, inside measurement. 

4. Upright inne timbers 12 inches wide, lined inside with 2-inch plank ; outside 
with inch boards. Space filled with dry clay tamped solid. Floor, 2-iuch i>]auk. 
over 4 inches of broken brick. 

5. lA-inch plank. 

6. Earth in boxes. We use 35 tons to each silo, or about 146 pounds to a square foot. 

7. The four cost complete, $2,400 — all above ground, painted. 

8. Corn.- 

9. We have tried two methods, viz, in drills 3 feet 10 inches apart, five to seven 



30 SILOS AND ensilagp:. 

grains to each foot. Our other method is siiuiliar to the first, but we ruu the planter 
back bet\Yeeu the two rows just pLinted, making the drills about 23 inches apart. 
We do not plow the ground until we are ready to follow with the harrow, and this, 
with the planter. As soon as planted we harrow the ground again to level track of 
planter, and when corn is high enough to see the rows, we again harrow. This is all 
the cultivation we give to what we call the "double drill," and is applicable only to 
land free from weeds. The "single drill" we treat precisely the same to the har- 
rowing after corn is up, then keep the cultivator going until too large. We average- 
three cultivations. We are still in doubt which yields most. 

10. When in bloom, and before the ear is fully developed. 

11. In 1881 the highest yield was 58 tons from one acre, lowest 10; average about 
12^. The highest and lowest are by weight, from measured ground. Our averagts^ 
was much above 12^ tons upon all but 80 acres of poor sandy land. 

12. We have used only the western dent. 

14. Cut in field with reaper; loaded by ;5 num upon flat hay-rack. At silo, cutter 
run by a 10-horse engine. 

15. Requires 2 men to feed <!utter. and one man and 2 lads in silo to keep it level. 
1(). The cost for 1881 was 9i cents per ton, including preparation of ground, seed. 

cultivation, cutting in field, hauling, cutting at silo, placing the weight, putting u]*. 
doois, fuel, and housing engine. 

17. 4 months. 

18. Good, not one pound spoik'd. 

19. None whatever. 

20. Not eciual to good green pasture, but much better than any dry feed alone. 

21. Increases quantity and ([uality of milk; improves the fla\ or of the butter. 
2:?. We fed 40 pounds per day i)er head. 

24. The midday feed was of cut dry corn-fodder, or cut millet-hay, with ground feed. 
Occasionally for trial we fed meal upon the ensilage, but abandoned it and fed ensiIagc^ 
alone, and meal upon dry food, or cattle would not eat it. 

25. Our herd of over 300 mih'li cows was acknowledgrd liy all the best conditioned' 
in the county, and in better flesh than when taken from pasture. 

20. We believe it the most profitable feed for winter dairying. The dry fodder last 
year cost us $1.10 ])er ton (taking average as above to acre) in stook in the field; and 
it had to be hauled to barn and cut afterwards. To put up prairie-hay cost us 75 
cents per ton, and it alone will not make milk, neither will it keep cattle from losing 
greatly through the winter. We tried feeding ensilage exclusively tq one barn of ."5- 
head; saw no ill efiects, but used one feed per day of dry fodder became our supply 
\Tastoo small for exclusive feed to our herd. 

The above answers for the West Point Butter and Cheese Association of this place., 
of which I am vice-president and manager. 



John R. Farxum, WaJtham, Mass.: 

2. In a steep hank, at the end of barn, and a space left open nearly to the bottom 
for taking out the ensilage. 

3. 35 X If) X 22 feet deep. 

4. Field-stone, pointed with cement, and plastered. 

6. Stone, 2i feet deep. 

7. Soil being blue gravel the digging was quite expensive, making whole cost about 
$550. 

8. Corn and rowen — principally clover. 

9. The ground was heavily manured, and planted with early potatoes, 4 feet aparr. 
After the potatoes were hoed the second time, about the 25th of June, the corn was 
planted between the rows with a planter which distributes fertilizer at the some time.. 
When the corn was 1^ or 2 feet high, the potatoes were dug and the corn hoed. 

10. When the tassels begin to dry, and the ears are a little past the milk. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 31 

11. The laud I plauted last year was very dry. It produced 16 to 17 tons per acre. 

12. I plauted 3 varieties last year; have plauted the Sontheru White this year. 

13. Nofc equal to the above. I had IJ acres sweet coru last year. 

14. Cut from f to ^ iuches. Used steam-power. 

15. Leveled by 3 or 4 uieu, and troddeu by a horse. 

16. The whole cost of raisiug the coru aud puttiug iu was §1.49 per ton. 

17. 2 mouths. 

18. The eusilage was bright, aud the cattle ate it readily. 

19. I could uot see that there was any deterioratiou of the eusilage iu the silo. After 
beiug takeu out aud laid ou the baru tloor it would heat, but the cattle ate it as readily 
as ever. 

20. The best they cau have, comiug nearer to green fodder thau auything else. 

21. It produces milk of as good quality as any other food, and more of it. 

22. Fully as good for dry stock, or horses aud colts, as for milch cows. 

23. From ,55 to 75 pounds per day for cows, according to their size, aud young stock 
iu proportion. 

24. I prefer to feed the stock one or two feeds of other food per day, Itut have had 
good results from feeding ensilage alone. 

25. I fed 20 head yearlings aud two-year-olds, nearly 3 uiouths ou ensilage and a 
(juart of wheat brau per day for each animal. They came out iu the spring better 
thau any stock of the same age I ever wintered. 

26. Ensilage cau be produced ready for use for $2 per ton, aud 3 tons are equal to 
a ton of English hay. The hay in our market is Avorth, ou an average, $20 per tou, 
making the ensilage worth, on that basis, $6.67 per tou — a uet profit of $4.67 per tou. 
Ensilage was sold iu our market last year aud year before for $6 aud $8 per tou, aud 
the purchaser considered it cheaper at those j)rices thau anything else he could feed to- 
his milch cows. 



N. S. Fish, Groion, Conn. : 

I. Adjoiniug feeding room. 

3. 12 X 13 X 14 feet deep. The eusilage was 8 feet deep after pressing. I have now 
carried the walls up, aud it is 24 feet deep for use iu 1882. 

4. Below frame of barn, concrete, plastered with cemeut. Above the frame, hem- 
lock boards, 2 thicknesses, with paper betweeu. The more perfectly the air is ex- 
cluded the better ; but by pressing you obtain that, though the sides are uot eu- 
tirely tight. 

5. Cut straw about 6 inches thick when loose, aud boards 2 thicknesses, taking care 
to cover joints. 

6. Stone, 18 iuches deep ; the more weight used the better, except the cost of put- 
ting ou and taking off. 

8. Coru. 

9. Planted iu rows, 2 grains in a place, about 18 inches apart. 

10. My corn was right for roasting ears. The corn (grain) w'as quite acid when 
we used it, much more so than the stalks ; shall put up this year before it is so far ad- 
vanced. 

II. 20 tons estimated. 

14. Cutter driven by 2-horse tread power 

15. AVe tilled iu 2 days. If put iu fast it is done with, but will settle much more if 
more time is used. If space is important, I think 2 or 3 feet per day fast enough. 

16. Mine cost $1.50 per ton. The larger the silo the less cost per ton. 

17. 10 weeks. 

18. Very nice. 

19. None, unless it was left for several days after being moved. 

20. Was much pleased with it. 



32 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

21. No bad effects on milk or butter; better color tbau ou dry feed. 

22. It is good food for any neat stock ; have not used it for horses. Hogs will eat it 
"well. Hens are fond of it. 

23. 60 pounds per day for cows. 

24. Hiiy or corn-fodder at noon. 

25. My stock kept in fine condition while feeding, and when it was used up, about 
April 1, they missed it, and milk decreased. Have no tests of gain or loss, but 
^ndge from general appearances. 

26. The cost of keeping animals is much reduced, comp-ared with any former way of 
keeping. When you can feed well 2 cows 12 months from 1 acre, the profit is well 
established. 



C. H. Frisijie, KiUhif/ly, Conn. : 

I. Silo on one side of thrashing-floor, stock on the other. 

3. 47x12x12 feet high ; this is divided by a wall, making one 30 feet long, and one 
15 feet. 

4. Stone laid in mortar. 

5. 2-inch inue plank, plowed and matched, in .sections of 3 feet each. 

6. Barrels of stone, 150 i)ouuds to the square foot. 

7. Entire cost, including cover, S300. 

8. Sweet corn. 

9. Drills 3i feet apart, cultivated with a horse hoe. 

10. When in full blossom. 

II. About 30 tons. 

12 and 13. Filled the silo only once, and that with sweet corn ; do not think we shall 
use sweet corn again, although it worked well. Our ensilage was not as dry as some 
we saw of different kinds of corn. 

14. 2-horse power and cutter. 

15. 18 inches per day, trod well and wet as often as we saw any signs of heating 
[Perhaps this accounts for condition noted in 12 and 13. — Ed.] 

16. About 50 cents per ton. 

17. 12 weeks. 

18. Very much as when put in, excepting it was more juicy and had a slight smell 
of alcohol. 

19. None whatever. 

20. Our cows never looked so well. 

21. Nearly doubled. 

23. Forty pounds per day. 

24. 5 pounds of bran to .50 of ensilage. 

25. Improved in every respect by the ensilage. 

26. We have very limited experience, but are entirely satisfied with it as a paying 
investment. 



C. W. Garrett, Enfitld, K. C. : 

My experience with ensilage has been of a general nature. I have made no special 
experiments, such as to weigh fodder produced on an acre, the best kind of corn, &c. 
I have lased pea-vines chiefly, because in my first experience I found stock preferred 
them to any other material I had used, and they were easily and cheaply produced. 
With the system of ensilage, I am feeding my stock at much less cost and trouble than 
ever before; they do their work and keep in much better condition than when fed on 
hay and fodder. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 33 

"William H. Gilbert, lUcMnnd, X. Y. : 

I. My silos are built at end of barn aiitl extend into side of bill. Tbe bottom of silos 
are 1 foot below stable floor witb doors extending from top of silo to level of stable 
floor. ' 

3. Each 8() x 16 x 19 feet deep. 

4. Stone, 2 feet thick, plastered with wator-lime. Bottom paved witb stone and 
plastered. 

5. '2-inch plank, plowed and matched. 

G. Last season I used common tield-stone, estimated at 30 tons on each silo. This 
season I intend to use barrels filled with sand, from 150 to 200 pounds to the square 
foot. 

7. Not far from .$H00. Stone cost A2 per cord delivered; paid 50 cents a perch for 
mason work ; §100 for labor on building ; excavation $30 ; got sand for mortar out of 
silo pit. 

8. Corn. 

9. Planted with drill, 30 inches apart, and cultivated same as field-corn. 

10. When the ears are large enough for roasting. 

II. I think 20 tons per acre a good average, one season with another. 

1.5. I like the Southern corn best. It grows large and is sweet and jnicj'. 
15. I place the cutter on wall, so that the feed falls directly into silo ; cut f of an 
inch, and from 8 to 10 tons an hour; keep 2 men in silo to level and pack. 
10. 35 to 40 cents per ton for cutting, drawing, and packing. 

17. 3 mouths. 

18. Good. 

19. As good in April as in December. 

20. 5 tons will keep a cow as long as 2 tons of the best hay. 

21. 25 per cent, more milk than from hay. The butter was No. 1; flavor nearly as 
good as that made from grass. 

22. My horses and hogs eat ensilage greedily ; did not feed enough to ascertain value. 

23. 40 pounds or 2 bushels to each head per day. 

24. I fed 2 pounds of bran night and morning, not with ensilage. 

25. I never had stock do as well on any other feed; they gained in flesh and health. 
Never had cows do as well after calving. 

2(). I have put iu 50 acres of corn for ensilage that has cost me, when ready for cul- 
tivating, .$433.10, including $5 per acre for fertilizer and cost of seed, and 30 cents 
lier hour for team; cost of cultivating will not exceed $30; should I have an average 
crop it will not cost more than SiS to winter a cow. I think with good management 
that a farm will keep 2 cows the year for every acre cultivated. I consider ensilage 
profitable. 

D. H. GooDELL, Antrim, X. H. : 

1. 2 silos, side by side; doors open into feeding rooms. 

3. Each 40 x 12 x 19 feet deep. 

4. Stone walls, cemented. 

6. Cobble stones, about 1 foot deep. 

7. $1,000, for both silos. 

8. Corn. 

9. Planted with planter and cultivated with smoothing harrow. 

10. When the ears are fully formed, just before the corn begins to glaze. 

11. 30 tons per acre. 

12. Southern White corn. 

13. No better than any other. 

14. Cut f inch long. 

15. Put in about 30 inches in depth per day. 
10. About 90 cents, but can do it for 75 cents. 

3 SIL 



34 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

17. 6 weeks. 
IH. Excellent. 
I'J. Noue at all. 

20 and 21. My cows produced more than 2U per cent, more milk cm ensilage than ou 
best bay. Quality of milk as good as on any otber feed. 

22. For fattening oxen it x^roved tbe best feed, in connection witb corn and cotton- 
seed meal, I ever used. 

23. Cows in milk ate OO pounds per day, witli 2 to 4 quarts of meal. 

24. Witb otber food. 

25. Young cattle fed cbielly ou ensilage, with a small quantity of poor bay, no meal; 
were tit for tbe Ijutcber in spring. 

2(). Exceedingly profitable, all tbiugs considered. 



J. P. GoOD.VLL, Peahodii, Mass. : 

I. My silo is located at tbe nortbwest corner of, and opens into, tbe barn. Half tbe 
deptb is below tbe barn floor. 

3. 40 X l.'> X 18 feet deep. 

4. Stone, faced witb cement. 

5. Planks, crosswise. 

(). Stone on tbe pl;iuks. 

7. About .$500. 

8. Corn principally. 

lU. Wben the corn is Iteginning to grow on the ear. 

II. About 30 tous to tbe acre, on tbe average. 

12. Tbe best kind of corn for ensilage is the largest. 

14. A 7 fo 10-borse-power engine and cutter. 

1.'). The fodder should be well trodden, as yon till, by man or horse. 

1(). From 5U cents to SI per ton, according to tbe distance to haul it. 

17. 21 to 3 months. 

I'J. Noue. 

2(1. 3 tous of ensilage as good as 1 ton of good bay. 

21. Good milk' and good butter. 

22. (iood for any stock. 

23. (iO pounils per day for a milch cow. 

24. About 30 pounds morning and night witb grain thrown on it. 

25. Better than on bay. They look sleek, drink less, and are happy. 



Jacob Gkeen, Wappbtijcrs Falls, X. Y. : 

1. 8 feet from cow-stable at end of the l>aru, which forms one side of silo. Is on 
side-bill, the top level with the roadway. 

3. 30 X 20 X 20 feet deep, divided by a partition. 

4. Tbe walls are 13 feet high and 3 feet thick, of limestone laid dry and faced 
Tvitb cement; above this it is of matched boards. The partition is also of matched 
boards, double and filled with earth. 

5. 1^-incb plank. 

G. 11 or 2 feet of stone. 

7. §600, exclusive of farm labor. 

8. Corn. 

12. Dutchess County White. 

14. Cutter run by a C-horse-po\ver engine; cut A-inch length, fast as 2 men could 
handle tbe fodder. 

15. 2 boys leveled it in .silo. 
17. 1 month. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 35 

18. Was hot and smelled like a brewery. 

19. Last was good as the first. 

20. Cattle were very foud of it. 

21. The milk ^as superior to any I ever tasted. 

22. Youni;- calves ate it readily, but also had milk until (3 weeks old; then only 
Lad ensilage with a lew oats; they grew and looked well. 

23. 1 bushel of ensilage twice a day for cows. 

24. Small (juantity of liay at noon with meal. 

25. All seem to be correct. 

26. So far, with 1 year's trial, ensilage is a perfect success, and equals all our ex- 
pectations. 



N. Gkii>lky & Sox, Wasmic, X. Y. : 

I. Cows are stabled in basement of barn, and door opens from the middle of back 
side (bank side) into tlie silo. Floor of silo about three feet lower than lloor of stable. 

3. 32 X 12 X 10 feet deep. 

4. Concrete, 14 to 16 inchts thick. Posts set in the ground and lined with 2-iucli 
plank, juit in as wall is built. Any kind of stone used. One part cement to 5 parts 
sand, mixed while dry, then wet so that it will pour from the pails in which it is carried. 
After the posts and planks are taken down the walls are jjlastered with cement, made 
with less sand. Bottom covered about 2 inches with gravel. 

5. Plank. 

6. 12 to 15 inches of stone. 

7. $200, including light frame building over it. 

8. Corn". 

10. Cut when "nubbins" are formed. 

II. Estinmted at 10 1o 15 tons. 

12. Any kind that produces a large growth. 

15. Set the cutter over the silo, and drew the corn alongside, cut about | of an inch 
long, and packed by pony and boys. 

16. 75 cents per ton. 

17. 3 months. 

18. Chang>ed color somewhat; a slight odor. 

19. None. 

20. They like it, and do well on it. 

21. The milk is reduced at condensing factory without complaint. 

22. They all eat it. 

24. Both. 

25. Good. 

26. We are now building one that will hold more than 400 tons. Milk is the import- 
ant product in this region. The "limit" formerly was the amount of hay that alarm 
could produce. Any farm can grow from 5 to 10 times as much green corn-fodder as 
it can of hay. With the silo the " limit " is not the hay but the ensilage. The value 
is caused by the increased product of food per acre. 

L. A. GtERBKH, Mousey, X. Y. : 

1. We cannot speak of elaborate constructions or well-digested plans, having simply 
dug a cellar under a part of our barn, with stone walls on three sides, and the earth 
held up by boards on the fourth side. The floor is earth. 

3. To be convenient, a silo should be long and narrow with an opening in the nar- 
row side on a level with the lloor. The exposed surface, while consuming the con- 
tents of a silo, should be as snuill as possible. The opening should be directly accessi- 
ble from the stable. Silos 8 or 10 fe€t wide, and long and deep in proportion to the 
requirements, would be the most convenient and serviceable. 



36 SILOS AXD ENSILAGE. 

5. We covered ours with cleau straw about G inches, then common liemlock boards. 
C. Stones 1 foot deep. This weight was amply sufficient for 8 feet of ensilage. 

8. Corn mainly. We have found that straw (rye, wheat, or oats) could be advan- 
tageously mixed with green corn in the proportion of J of straw to f of corn. The 
straw will absorb a part of the juice of the corn, and becomes equally palatable. There 
is no doubt that clover, rye, and proljably bog and salt-meadow grass will prove great 
resources for the farmer if properly ensiloed. We have experimented satisfactorily 
wnth clover and rye. 

9. In rows 3 feet apart and the stalks R to 8 inches from one another in the rows. 

10. As soon as tasseled. 

11. We have had fine crops of corn, planted as above stated, the yield of which has 
not exceeded 20 tons per acre. This weight is reduced fully one-third after 3 months 
in the silo. A safe estimate would be an average of 8 to 10 tons of ensilage from an 
acre of good, weU cultivated land. 

12. Corn of rank and quick growth is the best. 

13. The giant varieties of sweet corn we esteem preferable to connnon corn, as grow- 
ing more quickly and giving stalks more juicy and of softer texture. 

14. Our machine cuts the corn | of an inch long, and crashes the stalks so every 
j)art is eaten. 

16. The cost of cutting the corn green, carting it to the silo, and preparing suitably, 
we have found not to exceed the cost of cutting and curing in the ordinary way. 

17. 3 to 5 months. 

18. From 1 to 3 inches at the top is all the loss we have experienced. 

21. Cows give as good milk on ensilage as they do in grass, and the butter has the 
same color. 

23. A cubic foot is sufficient for one cow. 

24. We have never fed it exclusively. Animals require a variety of food to keep in 
appetite and good health. 

2(5. There is great economy in the system; how much we are not prepared to state. 
The exaggerated accountspnblished are very prejudicial. With the iirimitive arrange- 
ments described, our success has been so fair that we cannot hesitate to recommend 
even the jtoorest of our farmers to use silos ; to build them as best they can. A simple 
trench in the ground, well covered, will answer. Structures made for the purpose are 
more dm able, more convenient, and may save the fodder better, but all cannot aiford 
^he expense, while all can select a dry spot, dig a trench, till with green fodder, cover 

ith the earth dag out of the trench, and have juicy, palatable food for their stock 
in winter. 

Gard'k G. Hammond, New London, Conn.: 

I. Silo located 100 feet from cow stable on account of lay of land, so that ensilage 
has to be brought in in cart daily; if one has a side-hill barn, silo built adjoining 
cow stables would be proper plan. 

3. 50 X 15 X 15 feet. 

4. Stone wall laid in mortar without regard to thickness, one-half below level of 
ground, other half graded up to level of sill by stone and rocks excavated. 

5. 2-iuuh plank. 

6. Eocks, 200 pounds to square foot. 

7. §800, including superstructure. 

8. Corn. 

9. Planted with corn-drill, 2rowsat a time, which, with man, boy, and 1 pair liorses, 
marks, drops, and covers 1 acre per hour. 

10. At fullest growth, when ears are forming. 

II. Whole crop averaged 15 tons per acre, 4 acres of which was swamp, very poor ; 
on good corn-land had 21 tons per acre. 

12. The largest southern corn. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 37 

14. Large cutter run by pair of iiinles; not power enough; this year shall nse a 
steam engine. 

l,"). Ensilage leveled when put iu and rolled with a heavy garden roller. 

16. $2.4.5 per ton. 

17. 6 weeks. 

18. First rate. 
10. None. 

20. Excellent. 

21. Milk much richer, and an increase of 30 per cent, in quantity. 

23. 55 pounds. 

24. Fed twice a day, with 1 pint cottonseed meal and 3 quarts bran ; nothing else 
11 addition to ensilage. 

25. Milch cows about held same weight ; heaviest milkers lost ; dry cows, heifer, and 
bull gained steadily ; 2 latter at rate of 1 pound per day. 

2G. Cost of feediug on ensilage as against hay, roots, and meal, 1 too 3. 



Hamptox Normal School, S. C, Armstrong, Principal, Hampton, Va.: 

I. In one corner of barn, door opening into feed alley. 

3. 14 X 17 X 23 feet deep. 

4. Bricks and cement. 

5. Boards and straw. 
C). Dry fodder. 

7. About .$175. 

8. Corn. 

10. At the time of tasseling. 

II. 10 tons. 

12. Southeru white corn. 
14. Cut in lengths of | inch. 

16. Cost, $1 per ton. 

17. 4 months. 

18. No change in color; condition good. 

19. None. 

20. Does well as a change. 

21. Increased the tiavor of milk somewhat. 

23. About 60 pounds per day. 

24. Fed with other food — about 3 quarts of wheat bran. 

25. Fed 1 month only. There was no perceptible change iu the condition of the 
stock. 

26. Works well with other food; does well as a substitute for roots. 

The experiment was made with 30 tons ensilage only. This was used iu feediug for 
1 mouth ; hence the limited opportunity for observation. 



J. Harrigax, FoxhorougJi, 2fass. : 

1. Doors open from silo to feeding room. 

3. 60 X 11 X 12 feet deep. 

4. Rough stone, lined with concrete. 

5. Boards. 

6. Rocks, to the depth of 15 inches. 

7. $75 for cement. I did the work with my men in spare hours, during stormy 
weather. 

8. Coru. 

9. I plant in rows, and cultivate with smoothing harrow and cultivator. 

10. When in tassel. 



38 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

12. Southeru White coru. 

14. I cut tlie fodder | iuch long; cutter driven by a two-horse power. 

17. A iiioQtli. 

18. But slightly chauged iu color, and was perfectly preserved. 

19. No change after opening. 

20. 2 tons equal to 1 ton of English haj'. 

21. The best. 

23. 60 pounds per day. 

24. Mixed with cottouseed and cornmeal. 

25. The condition of the stock was good. A cow that "was old and poor, and gave 
but one quart of milk per day, was fed 60 pounds ensilage, 2 quarts cob meal, and 
2 quarts oottou-seed. She gained six quarts of milk per day, and was in good condition 
for the bntcher in three months. In all cases I find that the cows prefer ensilage to hay, 

26. I think ensilage is profitable for any man having 6 head of cattle, but not for 
less. 



Hon. C. r>. Hexbersox, Boston, Mass. : 

I. Silo sunk in gravel bed in l)ack part of barn cellar. The top on level with feed- 
ing room in front i)art. 

8. Length, 12 feet ; breadth, 8 feet ; depth, 8 feet. 

4. 2-inch plank, tongued and grooved. 

5. Same. 

6. Barrels filled with small stone, 90 pounds per square foot. 

7. Between .$50 and .'!?60, less value of gravel. 

8. Rowen in September, 1881, and winter rye in June, 1882. 

9. Rye sown broadcast early in October. 

10. Rye cut just after heading. 

II. Estimated weight of rye from i acre. 12 tons. 

14. Rye cut three-quarters of an inch in length. 

15. Cutter on platform over silo, one man mowing and hauling in liaiul cart, one cut- 
ting, some feeding and cutting, all three spreading and trampling at intervals. Time 
employed in filling silo 3 days. 

16. $1.15 per ton, including mowing and hauling. 

17. Silo closed and weighted June 8 ; opened July 17. 

18. Excellent. In sugar fermentation stage ; about one inch at top and sides mouldy. 

19. No deterioration perceptible on July 28. 

20,21. 1 cow dry, coming in in August, iu good healthy condition. Another milk- 
ing in similar condition, giving same quantity, but richer milk than when grazing 
up to July 17. 

23. About 50 jiounds per day. 

24. 4 feeds per day alone, 1 and 2 feeds respectively of meal or shorts, given sepa- 
rately. 

25. Condition and health very good. Relative weight not tested. 

26. No exact estimate made as to profitableness, bnt advantage of feeding ensilage 
in winter as well as late in summer, when grass is parched and scanty, incontestable. 
Ensilage a[)parently not adapted to horses, 2 which were given about 8 pounds a 
day each having within a few days suffered from acute inflammation of the intestines, 
which could not be traced to any other cause. 

John "Wixslovv Joxes, rorihoid, Me. : 

1. The best location for a silo is in the building where the cattle are fed, or con- 
nected with it. 
• 2. As near sc^uare as possible if of wood, or round if of stone or brick. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. . 39 

4. I have recorameDiled lining up the inside of a bay in an ordinary barn with one 
thickness of rongh, sti\aiglit-edged boards, nailed np and down. 

.5. Cover with any old boards — a layer of straw nnder the boards, if convenient. 

6. Weight with stones or bags of sand, 3 tons to every ten square feet or more if 
the silo has not been filled slowly, oris less than 20 feet high. 

7. To bring silos into general nse they shonld be made in stables already built, and 
not cost over .f25 to §30. 

8. Corn is best. Rye is good, and can be cut and corn planted on same ground. 
I raise sweet corn for packing, and ensilage the fodder. 

9. Drills 3 feet apart, 1^ to 2 bushels to the acre. 

10. Before it begins to dry. 

11. 2.5 tons per acre is a good yield. Rye 5 to 8 tons. 
1*2. The Virginia White corn is good as any. 

13. There is very little if any difference where both are raised especially for fodder. 
You can raise a crop of sweet corn and the fod-der is very nice for ensilage, but after 
raising a crop of other corn the fodder is of little value. 

14. Machine should be set to cut f of an inch. A large cutter and steam power are 
best. An ordinary hay cutter will do the work, but it is slow. 

15. I think it best to be 3 or 4 weeks filling a silo, or even longer, if it is 20 or 2.5 
feet high. If you are filling several, till all a foot or so a day, and if a day intervenes 
it is all the same. The fodder should be kept level and trod very hard, and every 
morning before any new is put in it should be thoronghly trodden. If high the weight 
of ensilage helps to make it solid. 

16. It requires 4 men to run the machine and pack from G to 8 tons a day. 

17. From 3 weeks to 6 months or more. 

18. A little on top and next to the boarding mouldy, the other is moist, has a yel- 
lowish color, a smell resembling brewery grains, and a slight acid taste. 

19. None, if well i)acked. 

20. Cattle like it, and thrive on it, better than on the best early-cut hay. 

21. In some instances people have complained a little of the taste of the milk and 
bntter; I do not think it injures either. 

22. It is more valuable than the best hay, in fact when fed Avith this, cattle will 
not eat hay. I fattened 100 head last winter. 

23. 3 tons will go as far as a ton of hay. 

24. I fed twice a day and gave a little hay at noon. For fattening cattle cotton 
seed meal or cornmeal on the ensilage. 

25. I never saw cattle fatten as fast on anything else. 

26. I think a stock of cattle can be kept for one-foui-th the expense of any other 
method. 



N. P. Jones, Melrose, Mass.: 

I. Silo adjoins side of barn. 

3. 30 X 14 X 12 feet deep. 

4. Two courses of hard-burnt brick laid in cement, bottom cemented. 

5. Planks fitted across silo. 

6. Stone, as many as can conveniently be placed on plank. 

7. §250 ; but I had everything to buy or hire ; nnder favorable circumstances as good 
a silo could be biiilt for §125. 

8. Corn fodder. 

9. Planted in drills, and cultivated with horse-hoe or plow. 

10. When stalk and ear are full grown, but before commencing to rii^en. 

II. Our best yield is estimated 30 tons per acre. 

12, 13. Use Western or Northern yellow corn, but think a variety of sweet corn like 
Stowell's Evergreen better. 



40 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

14, 15. Cut froDi J to f inches long, vritli large fodder cutter, run by horse power. 
Two men arc employed in the field cutting, one hauling, one tending machine, one 
leveling, and one tramping in silo, and we cut up and pack from 30 to 3.j horse-cart 
loads a day. 

Hi. It costs me ,$1.50 per ton. 

17. Eight weeks. 

18. 1| to 2 inches at top was mouldy and unfit to feed; underneath this it was a 
brownish green, with an alcoholic odor. 

19. Not noticeable. 

20. Cows eat with relish and apparently do as well as when fed good English hay. 

21. Milk as good as when feeding English hay, giving rich cream of a nutty flavor. 

22. Calves while fed ensilage wholly, grew well, and were apparently healthy. 

23. One and a half bushels a day. 

24. Feed hay at noon ; also feed grain, three pints corn meal and three quarts shorts. 

25. Do as well and are as healthy as when fed upon hay. 

2(3. I think ensilage is profital)le. In the spring of 1880, the season being dry, and 
the hay crop promising to be light, we plowed and planted from two to three acres, a 
part as late as June 22, which made upwards of forty tons of ensilage, besides what 
was fed green. This gave, with a moderate outlay for manure and labor, an amount 
of fodder in every way equal to ten tons of English hay. It is hauled from the field 
and packed in the silo without the labor and delay of curing, and whether the sun 
shines or not. It is a valuable addition to our supply of fodder; which can be relied 
upon when the hay crop is light. 

Henry Lapicam, Ocoiiomowoc, Jf'is. : 
1. The intention is to build more barns and have them joined to the silo. 

3. 2 pits 12 X 30 s 16 feet deep. 

4. Against the bank, stone ; all others of concrete. 

6. Stone, 125 pounds per square foot. 

7. §.520.06. 

8. Clover and corn. 

9. Eows 3 feet 8 inches apart, about i bushel to the acre. 
12. The native, or that which grows best. 

14. A large straw cutter, run by a steam engine. 

18. Good, except about 3 inches on top, and an inch along each wall about 3 feet 
down. I think this was owing to the silo being filled before the cement was dry. 

19. None, unless shaken up and left for a day or two. 

21. The flow of milk was increased. 

22. Excellent. 

24. INIostly alone, but to milch cows gave l^rau and oil meal. 

25. Health and condition good. 



Leoxard Bnos, (ha/ton, J/t(^.v. ; 

I. Top of wall on level with feeding floor. 

3. Silo No. 1, 24 X 12 x 13 feet deep. Silo No. 2, 24 x7i x 13 feet deep. ' 

4. Granite, laid in cenaent. Walls grouted inside. . 

5. Plank running crosswise of silo, cut 2 inches shorter than width of silo. 

6. Cobbles ; about 150 pounds to the square foot is necessary and sutiticient. 

7. Cost of botli silos $500. 
^. Corn, rye, and clover. 

9. We i^lant corn in drills about 3i feet apart, and 3 to 5 kernels to the foot. 

10. When the ears are well set, not before. 

II. About 20 tons. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 41 

14. We cut com f of an inch in leugth ; rye and clover 1| inches. LT.se 3-hores 
steam engine. 

15. Keep 3 or 4 men tramping down the fodder constantly Avliile cutting. 

17. 4 weeks. 

18. Slightly acid, and of a brown color. 

19. Loss very slight. 

20. About one-third of that of tlie best of haj', pound for pound. 

21. The milk made from ensilage seems to be fully e(|ual, if not superior, to tiiat 
made from best hay. 

22. For fattening, we think it superior to anything in the shape of coarse fodder. 

23. 50 pounds for milch cows. 

24. With 1 feed of poor hay and 6 to 7 pounds cotton seed and cornmeal, 3 of 
former to 1 of latter. 

25. Better than ever before, perfectly healthy to all appearances. 

26. The best food for cattle, and most economical ever produced. 



Lincoln Bros., Woodstock, Vt.: 

I. Away from barn, connected by a track with car. There was no chance to join 
to the barn. 

3. Two silos, each 30 x 15 x 22 feet deep. 

4. 18 feet of concrete, and 4 feet of frame work. 

5. Boards, crossways. 

6. One foot in depth of stone. 

7. $300 for materials, superstructure included; did the work ourselves. 

8. Corn. . 

9. Our corn was planted in drills 3^ feet apart, one kernel every 5 inches, but it did 
not come up well, and some were three or four feet apart, so there was not as large a 
crop as we hoped for; cultivated as long as we could. 

10. Some of our corn was in the milk when cut, and some jnst well tasseled out. 
We could not see much difference in feeding; stock ate the whole readily. 

II. We had about 120 tons, calling one cubic foot 40 pounds, from eight acres. The 
yield would have been more if it had not been so dry. 

12. Think the Southern the best as we get a larger yield, and being cut, all is eaten 
readily. 

14, 15. The corn was drawn to silo as fast as cut, and cut | of an inch long, with a 
ciitter run by a four-horse power steam engine, and elevated by carrier to top of silo. 
We did not quite till our silo. 

16. Counting interest on engine and cutter for one year, it cost us less than 85 cents 
per ton. 

17. One month. 

18. The ensilage had a light brown color wlnni opened, with a slightly acid taste. 
Our cows did not take to it the first feeding, but it was all eaten np before the next 

■feeding, and after that most of them would eat it in preference to hay, if both were 
fed at once; two or three would scarcely eat hay if put before them, but would wait 
for ensilage. 

19. Ours kept about the same until fed out, the 15th of May. If any change, a little 
more acid smell. 

20. For milch cows, we think it ahead of any feed we ever tried. 

21. The cows gave nearly or quite as much milk as in summer when on grass. The 
effect on butter was as marked as in the yield of milk, making full as much from the 
same amount of milk, and being nearly as high colored as summer butter. We have 
regular customers for our butter; all said that it was the best butter we ever made in 
the winter, and nearly as good as the best of Juno butter. 



42 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

22. Good for all horned cattle. We fed a few sheep, ensilage twice and hay once a. 
day (no grain), and they did well ; with some grain would do full as well as on hay. 

23. From 75 to 90 pounds per head per day. We gave -what they would eat clean. 

24. We fed three quarts of cotton and linseed meal mixed, per day, per liead to our 
milch cows. We tried the dift'erent kinds separate, but for milk the mixed feed was 
best. We fed our cows dry corn fodder once a day part of the winter, but they liked 
ensilage better. Our calves had ensilage morning and night, and hay at noon ; no- 
grain. They did as well as we ever had calves do. 

25. Our stock came out looking well, some of the neighbors said as well as they 
ever saw. We fatted an old cow that was so thin that we expected to lose her; she- 
dressed ()50 pounds good beef; was milked all the time. 

26. We think ensilage is profitable. Have put in more corn this year. 

James Lirpixcorr, Mount Holh/, X. J. : 
1. Silo 200 hundred yards from cow barn. 

3. 19 s lOi X 9 feet deep. 

4. Brick walls, eight inches, pointed with cement, cement bottom. 

5. Two inch plank. 

G. Sand, put on loose. 

7. $90. 

8. Corn. 

9. Cultivated same as tield corn. 

10. When tit for boiling. 
12, 13. Sugar corn the best. 

14, 15. Use a two-horse power, and cut in i inch lengths ; get it into the silo, pack, 
firm, and cover — all as soon as possible. 

17. Two months. 

18. Ensilage in splendid condition. 

19. Kept in good condition until all fed. 

20. The best for milk of any feed that I over used. 

21. Good. 

22. My colts did well on it. 

23. One bushel per cow. 

24. Fed twice a day, adding three quarts bran and corn meal at each feeding. 

25. My stock did well; never had a cow to get out of fix while feeding ensilage. 
2G. I consider ensilage the cheapest, best, and most profitable feed that a dairyman 

can use. 



S. Little, Georgetown, Mass. : 

1. Opens into the feeding-room of side-hill barn. 

3. 28 X 30 (depth not stated), divided by wall in center. 

4. The earth being very retentive, i>lastered on the earth with cement up to the frost 
line ; and then laid a concrete wall for the rest. Covered the bottom with 10 inches- 
of stones and cemented over the whole. 

5. Plank. 

6. Stones 15 inches thick over the entire surface. 

7. |;450. 

8. Corn. 

9. Planted in drills 3 feet 9 inches apart, and one or two kernels 8 to 10 inches 
apart in row. 

10. Cut when the fullest of sap, before any bottom leaves have turned yellow. 
12. Blount's prolific. It is very full of leaf to the ground. 

14. Cut in f-inch pieces. Used horse power but steam is very much better. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 43 

16. From fL75 to $2 per ton, -with steam power; another year will do it for |1..')0. 

17. 3 mouths. 

18. Snccnlent, sweet, and nice. 

19. Better when it came ont than when it went in. 

20. Better than the grass in onr wornout pastures. 

21. Much the same as turning cattle to pasture, 

22. Had com})lete success in feeding cows not iu milk on nothing but ensilage. 
They were fat and nice, aud satisfactory to our butchers to kill. 

23. Fed 50 pounds jier day to cows in milk ; to cows not in milk, (!.') to Tit pounds. 

24. Fed the same grain as when feeding hay, and hay once a day. 

25. Stock fed on ensilage during the winter; came out this spring iu fiue condition^ 
hair indicating perfect health. Never had stock look and appear better, if as well. 

26. The profitableness of ensilage depends in a great measure on the amonnt of green 
fodder raised per acre. It is the enormous crop which can be raised iter acre which 
settles the whole question. 

Prof. J. M. McBrydk, EnoxdUe, Tom.: 

I. 2 silos, adjoining, on upper side of hill-side barn, the top being level with first 
floor and bottom level with floor of basement, with doors between. 

3. 21 feet 3 inches x 10 feet 6 inches each ; depth, 11 feet. 

4. Brick wall 12 inches thick, each long side at middle strengthened by buttress 16 
inches thick; sides aud bottoms lined with cement. 

5. Planks 2 inches thick, placed transversely on layer of cut straw. 

6. Old bricks, stones, or anything. Too much weight is frequently ajtplied. We 
used 100 pounds per square foot, (too much); floor of silo covered with expressed 
juices of forage. 

7. The 2 silos and extension of roof of barn over them, cost i^'.ViO. 

8. Corn, clover, millet, dhurra, sorghum. 

9. Thinly drilled in rows 3 feet apart; 200 pounds compost drilled iu with seed, 
thoroughly cultivated. 

10. The corn beginning to silk, grain just forming. This is a practical question. If 
allowed to stand louger the lower leaves become fired and valueless, with consequent 
loss of weight. 

II. Red H(mduras sorghum, 11,886 pounds; gourd-seed corn, (5,327 pounds; orange 
sorghum, 7,9y5 pounds. 

12. Honduras sorghum is a forage jdant of great promise. I think much better than 
corn. 

14. Cutter driven by a one-horse power. This sliced up a cart load — 500 pounds — 
into 4-inch pieces in five minutes. 

15. The corn fell directly into the pit and was heavily tramped. 

16. 68f cents per t(ui; wliere mower could be used and horse rake it was less. 

17. 3 mouths. 

18. Sound and fresh, but slightly changed in appearance ; the edges aud top alone 
to the depth of an inch being somewhat, damaged. One silo was not opened for fif- 
teen mouths after it was filled, aud with the exception of the outermost layers was 
found in very fair condition, somewhat more acid, but in other respects eijual to the 
other silos opened the previous winter. 

19. Continued sound to the last and equil iu quality. 

20, 21. All our milch cows receiving ensilage showed a notable improvement in milk. 
Butter made from milk of cows fed on ensilage of excellent flavor. 

22 to 24. Three yearling steers fed exclusively on long forage; one weighing 423 
pounds received a daily ration of 20 pounds of hay; gained 22 pounds ii 28 days» 
Another, weighing 4,j7 pounds, received 10 pounds hay aud 20 pounds ensilage; gained 
28 pounds. A third, weighing 442 pounds, received 40 ])ounds ensilage and gained 



44 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

3b pounds. Two pounds ensilage gave better results thau oue pound hay. It is plain 
that animals should be fed on mixed rations of ensilage and matters rich in albumi- 
noids. 

25. In all experiments the animals were hearty; bowels open, but not too loose, and 
their digestion good. 

2(1 Of decided value, esx>ecially in South where hay is scarce. Economy of space is 
-an important consideration. An immense amount can be packed away in small space. 
Again, in nine seasons out of ten, it is difficult to cure fodder. The least rain moulds it 
^nd it will mould if stacked; without weeks of exposure to cure it, ensilage can be 
put down without regard to weather. 

W. W. Merriam, ()l Liherlij street, Neiv York, y. Y. : 
I. Distant 20 feet from feed alley. 

4. Exterior wall 2 feet thick and 16 feet high : partition-wall 14^feetthick,of stone and 
•cement, forming 2 pits, each 14 x 1.5 x 16 feet. On this wall I built a frame, 9-foot 
posts, sided up with grooved and tongued boards, covered with building paper, then 
•clapboarded. Inside of studding, lined up with 1 J inch grooved and tongued spruce, 
well painted, and flush with inside of silo wall, so that the covers may run down with- 
out an impediment, making a total height of 20 feet. The floor is grouted with gravel 
and cement, 8 inches thick, and inside of walls' plastered with cement. 

5. Cover's 15 feet long and 3 feet wide, made of 2-inch spruce plank, grooved and 
tongued ; cleats of same bolted on. 

6. Stone are piled on these covers to extent of 300 to 350 pounds per sijuare foot. 

7. SI, 000. 

8. Corn and clover. 

9. Corn drilled in rows 40 inches apart, S to 10 kernels to the foot, or a bushel or 
■seed to the acre. 

10. Corn should be cut when in full bloom, and just as the silk is showing. It is 
then full of saj) from root to jicak. Clover in full blossom. 

12. Southern gourd-seed corn. 

14. My men cut the corn with corn-hook, laying it inuuediately upon the idatform 
•or wagon shelvings, when it is taken directly to the silo. The .sooner the stalk is run 
through the cutter and in the silo after leaving the hill the better. With a two- 
Lorse power I cut a ton of stalks f inch long in 12 to 14 minutes easily. 

15. The cut fodder is kept leveled off and tread moderately each 2 or 3 loads. 
There is no need of covering the ensilage each niyht. 

17. Not less thau 60 days. 

18. When silo was opened the odor was much like a whisky still; 2 months later 
it was more like a molasses cask. 

19. None; on .the contrary much improved. I remove one cover at a time and take 
out the ensilage in a perpendicular line to the bottom of pit, then another cover, and 
so on. 

20.. Nothing so exactly suits the purpose. When cows are first fed with ensilage, 
they do not eat it with relish, but after a few days they eat it in preference to good 
hay. 

21. When the ensilage was exhausted my cows fell off in milk fully one-quarter; 
•even the addition of more grain with hay would not prevent it. The cream did not 
make so much butter, nor were the color and flavor equal. 

22. The past winter I bought some 3-year old western steers, thin in flesh, but 
liealthy, and fed them for 90 days. The ration per day was 44 pounds ensilage, 6 
pounds corn-meal, and a bushel of cut corn-stalks. They showed marked improve- 
ment in 30 days, and continued to thrive beyond the experience of feeders in the old 
•old way. At the end of 90 days, my ensilage being exhausted, I shipped the steers 
to New York, where they showed a gain of over li pounds per day, and that after 
a cold night's ride in open car. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 45 

23. Cattle should be fed on ensilage as upon any otlier food, viz, all tliey will eat. 
clean. A ton a month of ensilage is a full ration for an animal, and few will eat as- 
much if properly housed, regularly fed, and well cared for. 

24. I prefer a midday ration of dry feed, and feed cows in milk, and I'atting oxen,, 
more or less grain. 

25. Every animal I have ft^d on ensilage has ini[»roved in condition and enjoyed 
the most perfect health. Jersey calves eat ensilage with great relish at four weeks of 
age, and I show as m:ieli improvement in a calf dropped in October as I could possi- 
bly if raised on the best pasture. 

, 26. There is no fodder for winter ns3 like ensilage, and I a:n thinkiug of adojiting; 
it for summer as well. 



Fi!A>X'is Morris, Oakhtnd Millg, Aid. : 

I. Feed must be carted, therefore ensilage it where it is grown. 

3. 11 feet wide at top, 7 feet at bottom, deep as convenient, any length required. 

4. Earth. 

5. Earth. 

C, Earth, 20 inches depth. 

7, $10 to 125. 

d. Corn. 

y. Drills, 20 inches apart; work twice. 

10. Cut it in tassel. 

II. 10 to 20 tons. 
12. White corn. 

14. Cut it with mowing machine, haul it on wagons to cutter, which delivers it iii 
the silo. 

If). 10 to 12 cents pcsr ton, for the labor alone. 

17. CO days. 

18. It should be taken out of silo, thrown into a heap, and kept a day before used.. 

19. No loss whatever. 

20. Half the value of timothy hay. 

21. Ensilage with Indian meal makes the best butter that has been made. Ensilage- 
is free from the noxious weeds that frequently poison milk. 

22. Good for all animals. 

23. Cows will eat 10 per cent, of their weight. 

24. Meal and oil-cake may be fed with it. 

25. All animals improve on it. 

26. Timothy hay is worth here !c!20 per ton. Corn-fodder is worth half as much. 
'I'his makes a crop of corn-fodder of 20 tons per acre worth $200 for feeding stock. 

I am clearly of opinion that silos should be put in the field where the corn is grown. 
My fodder was analyzed by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, and took 
rank as No. 2 oiit of nine samples. This shows that the earth silo is equally as good 
as the wood, brick, or stone silo, and is made at a trifling expense. 

The turnip doubled the grain crop of p]ngland. Ensilage Avill change the agricul- 
ture of all maize producPng countries, and increase their products probably in a much 
greater ratio. 

There appears to be an inclination to argue side Issues. The New Jersey Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station has made an elaborate trial to prove that there is as much 
feed in dried fodder as in ensilaged fodder. I have no doubt of the facts, bur I have 
forty acres in corn fodder, and I expect to ensilage it, and shall do so (without hiring 
extra hands) at the rate of 100 tons a day. If I had to cure the same I should require 
an additional i^opulatiou on the farm, and then where to put it after it was cure() 
would be hard to sav. 



46 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

Capt. G. MORTOX, Essex, Vt.: 

My first silo was simply a trench iu the ground, covered with a few boards and 
weighted with 2 feet of earth and stoue ; fodder put iu without being cut came out 
perfectly preserved. The next year I built a stoue silo 60 x 12 x 8i, and last year a 
woodeu silo 15| x 19 x 2U. 

5. Boards. 

6. One foot depth of stone, or 10 J pounds per square foot. (See 19.) The more the 
better. 

7. Stone silo cost .$100. Wooden silo, S30. 
ri. Corn. 

'J. Drill with planter 2 bushels to the a.-re, cultivate with a smoothiug-harrow 
until a foot high, then use horse-hoe. 

10. As soon as in tassel. 

11. Average 20 tons. 

12. Southern white and Blount's prolific are the kinds I have used. 

14. One horse-power. 

1.5. With three men and two horses put into silo 10 tous per day ; cut i iuch. 

1(5. 40 cents i>er ton. 

17. One mouth. 

16. Warm and slightly acid, but cows liked it and increased iu milk. 

19. As I used it I moved the stone until I had 2 feet, or a weight of 300 pounds 
j)er sfxuare foot, and the ensilage improved in (quality all the time ; better on 1st of 
May than iu October. 

20 to 25. The past winter I fed nothing but ensilage for 4 months to all stock; 
■when cows begau to come in, 1st of February, fed 4 quarts of meal and bran, reduc- 
ing the quantity of ensilage from 60 pounds to 40 and 30, until 1st of May, when it 
was gone. I then increased grain-feed to 7 (|uart3. but cows fell otf in milk as soon 
as I commenced to feed hay. I wintered 37 head of horned cattle, a large horse, 6 
hogs, and 50 fowls; cows were fat all winter. 

J. G. MoTT, Lann'uHjhura, X. Y. : 

I. At one end of and opening into a barn fioor. from the opposite side of which start 
the feeding alleys for 48 head of cattle. 

3. 15 X 20 feet ; mean height, 17i feet. 

4. Walls at the bottom are of brick laid iu cement 1 foot thick, 3 feet high; on 
this wall is a plank laid iu cement for a sill; the remainder of the wall is of studding 
and 2-inch plank, with two thi(dvuesses of tarred paper ; and over the ])aper, boards. 
The floor is of brick, laid iu and covered with cement. 

5. 1^ inch boards, 15 feet long, laid down edge to edge. 

6. Barrels of sand, should be 300 pounds to the si^uare foot. 

7. About $150. 
«. Corn. 

9. Drills 3 feet ajiart, 12 kernels to the foot. 

10. When corn is iu tassel, ears just forming. 

II. 14 tons. 

12. Southern horse-tooth. 

15. Pack closely in silo : ought to fill at least 4 feet each dav. 

16. $1. 

17. 70 days. 

18. Sweet and juicy, of a light-green color. 

19. Not any. 

20. Next to good pasture. 

23. 50 pounds per day. 

24. Ensilage twice a day, hay ouce ; for fattening, two quarts of meal with the 
<3usilage. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 47 

25. Cattle, fed meal Avitli it, sold readily lor beef, wliieli equaled any gras.s beef; was 
«weet and juicy. 

2Ci. Oue acre of eusilage will keep 8 head of cattle Idfl days. I will build three 
more silos this year. 

James Neilsox, Xtw Bntustvkk, X. J. : 

2. A loug, narrow, deep, pit is preferalile : then, if a hay-knife be used to cut dowu 
smoothly at the end, there is but little loose fodder exposed to the air, and conse- 
quently a minimum of waste. 

3. 40 X 14 X ly feet, half under j;round. 

4. Concrete walls I foot thiidc. 

5. Loose boards. 

G. 400 pounds stones per si|uare yar<l. 

7. .$1,320, including, a deep underdrain, which cost, perhai>s, $l.')(). 

8. Corn. 

9. Sowed with wheat-drill ; rows 3| feet apart. 

11. 61 tons per acre in dry season. 

12. Large Dent. Charging every expense, including 83.50 for manure, ensilage cost 
$.s per ton. 

21. Milk exceedingly rich in cream and of remarkably pleasant llavor. 

24. 50 pounds ensilage, 30 poinuls brewers' grains, and 2 pounds cotton seed meal for 
s. l,COO-pound cow. 

25. Cattle gained in weight and appearance. 

Note. — I have just contracted for a new silo 40 x 20 feet, x 18 feet deep, to cost $500 ; 
to be built of chestnut posts set in th^i ground 3 feet apart, with double lining of 
liemlock boards, with tarred paper between. All above ground. 

Capt. JoHX Phillips, Eudson, Mass.: 

I. Connected with cattle barn. 

3. 25 X 15 X 18 feet. 

4. 4 feet thick ; stone wall laid up dry at bottom ; 3 feet thick at 12 feet high ; the 
last 3 feet rubble and cement. 18 inches thick: lined from 2 to 4 inches thick with 
cement, bottom and sides. 

5. 2-iuch spruce plank 12 inches wide; close fitting. 

6. Stones; at least 100 pounds to the square foot. 

7. 8350. 

8. Corn, Hungarian grass, and Rowen. 

y. Drills 3 feet apart, cultivated with smoothing-harrow and horse-hoe. I prepare 
my ground very thoroughly. 

10. Wheu the corn is in the milk. 

II. 20 tons. The height of corn would average about 12 feet, some as high as 14 
feet. 

12. Southern white. 

14. I used a 4-horse-power steam engine, and cut my ensilage f inch. 

15. I employed 2 men cutting in field, 2 2-horse teams to haul from fieUl, 1 man to 
lielj) load, 2 men at cutter, au engineer, and 2 men in silo to pack. 

16. Owing to inexperience it cost me 75 cents per ton for filling silo, and I estimate 
<)2| cents per ton for raising the corn. Shall do better this year. 

17. Eight Aveeks. 

18. Very satisfactoiy ; the cattle took to it at once. 

19. I could perceiA-e no deterioration. 

20. My experience leads me to .set a high value upon ensilage for milch cows. 

21. It not only improves the quality of milk and butter, but increases the quantity 
15 per cent. 



48 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

22. Valuable for young stock and fattening cattle. All improved greatly in con- 
dition and appearance. I found it excellent for horses, and my liogs ate it with a good 
relish. The poultry ■were fed with it every day with good effect. 

23. 60 pounds to an average size animal, in some cases more, and with young stock 
less, per day. 

24. Two rations of ensilage with a small portion of shorts, and either cotton-seed or 
Indian meal, and a feed of loose hay at night. Sometimes the hay was omitted and 
cut roots fed in its place. The ensilage was the stand-by. 

25. In no case was there a loss either in weight or health, but rather a decided gain 
in all the stock. 

20. I found it prolitable. It saved me from 35 to 40 per cent, in cost of wintering 
my cattle. 

Geoiuje a. Pierce, A^tanstrdd, Canada: 

1. Should if possible be in the end of barn. All the better if a bank barn. The 
bottom of silo should be on level with feeding floor. 

2. Oblong, and height greater than width. 

3. Last season my silo was 32 x 14 feet, and 12 feet high ; have added 10 feet to the 
height and built another the same size. The whole capacity is now 1,000 tons. 

4. Stone and brick laid in cement is preferred; believe wood will answer if carefully 
constnicied. 

5. I'lanks across the silo singly. 

G. 150 pounds of stone to the S(iuare foot. 

r. !t;250. 

8. Principaly corn ; some clover. 

9. Drills 2i feet apart, seed 5 inches in the row. 

10. When in the milk. Perhaps more weight can bo grown by letting it stand 
longer, but the ensilage would not keep as well as when the cells are full of the 
natural juice, and not replaced by air. 

11. Best acre, 35 tons. Average, nearly* 30 tons. 

15. The cut corn was well trodden by men and horses. 

16. Cost last season somewhat less than .§2..50 per ton. 

17. Was filled and closed September 15, and oiiened December 8, 1881. 

18. Good. 

19. None; not more than 5 bushels loss out of more than 100 tons. 

20. Very valuable for dairy stook, entirely taking the place of roots and largely 
that of hay. 

21. Immediately on feeding the ensilage the butter gained in quality and quantity. 
No fault was found by the purchaser. 

22. Fed a few steers on ensilage and they did well ; calves and young stock did 
remarkably well. 

23. 60 to 70 xjonnds per day. 

24. With meal. 

25. Very good. Tliey commenced to gain as soon as they were fed ensilage; 
formerly had hay, roots, and some grain. 

26. A great advantage over the system of feeding hay and roots in winter. 

George T. Powele, Ghent, X. Y. : 

1. Silos form part of barn : all above ground, and opening into feeding-room. 

3. 75 X 16 X 16 feet, and divided into 4 apartments. 

4. Concrete. 

5. 2-inch plank. 

6. Press with screws; the higher silos are made the less pressure required. 

7. Cost of walls of barn including silos, 8 cents per cubic foot. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 49 

8. Corn aud millet. 

9. Drilled and cultivated with lianow. 

10. Just after blossoming. 

11. 10 tons of corn, 4 tons of millet; the season being unfavorable wo had but half 
a croji. 

12. I use southern horse-tooth, Blount's Prolilio, and sweet corn. 

13. Think sweet the best. 

14. Cut t of an inch; the fine-cut fodder preserves better. 

If). Fill rapidly as possible, tramp the edges well, and weight as soon as filled. 
If). One silo tilled with nullet, put in whole length, cost 25 cents jier ton; corn cut 
cost 50 cents per ton. 
17. 3 months. 
IH. Condition excellent; except millet around edges a little moulded. 

19. The uncut millet continued to mold a little after opening; corn remained un- 
changed to the last. 

20. Excellent for milch cows. 

21. A larger and far better product than the best hay gave. 

22. Fed 350 sheep, ewes for early lambs, wethers, and lambs for fattening. A severe 
drought brought my sheep up in bad condition for wintering, but they improved 
steadily and came out in good condition to sell, with unfavorable circumstances all 
through the feeding season. 

23. Cows, 50 pounds per head daily ; sheep, 2 J to 5 pounds; horses, 20 pounds ; hogs, 
2 to 5 pounds. 

24. Fed ensilage morning and night with grain upon it, and hay or straw at noon. 

25. All stock fed on ensilage improved in condition and apiJearauce steadily. 

2(5. I am keeping four times the quantity of stock with my silos that I have been 
able to keep heretofore. Its advantages will be great in the preservation of clover, 
which is often nearly mined by wet weather in the attempt to cure it; the same is 
true of millet. A silo tilled with green food in time of protracted drought is invalu- 
able. In Northern States warm buildings should be provided for stock ; ensilage should 
not be fed where it will freeze before the stock can eat it. 



Jacob Pi;gsley, Wassaic, X. Y. : 

I. Silos shvHild by all means open directly on fee<ling floor. 

3. 25 X 16 feet, 14 feet deep ; six, side by side. 

4. Concrete — one part cement, five parts coarse sand, five parts small stones ; built 
between planks supported by studding in such manner that the planks can be raised 
after being filled with concrete. A wedge driven lightly between studs to spring 
them apart, say I inch, allows the planks to slip upward easily and without cracking 
walls, which are still soft. 

5. Two or three inches of straw, if cheap, will save a little ensilage at top ; common 
hemlock boards, laid on so they can settle with the ensilage aud not bind on the walls, 
Lave proved perfectly good; no harm is done by their lai)ping anywhere that is con- 
venient. 

(). Stone, 18 inches deep, if convenient ; earth would serve e(|ually well. 

7. About 6 cents per cubic foot of contents, having to haul sand, cement, and lum- 
ber 3 miles. 

8. Grass — Hungarian-grass and corn. 

9. I have so far preferred corn raised as for ears ; cutting ears and stalks together. 

10. Everything except corn should be cut before full blossoming ; corn has proved 
equally good with me when cut before the ears were all in the milk, and when ripe 
enough to harvest in ordinary manner for ears. 

II. Everything depends upon quality of soil, amount of manure used, and cultiva- 
tion. Land that will yield a ton of hay jier acre will, of course, give 5 or G tons of 

4 SIL 



50 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

green grass, aud eliould yield 8 to 10 tous of Hungariau, or 10 to 12 tons of coru in 
Mils; perhaps 15 or 18 tons of southern coru can be grown as easily ; this is supposing 
the ground to be fairly uiauured. 

14. Cut about au inch in length ; used a oue-horse power. An engine would be 
more efficient. 

15. No harm seems to ensue if silo is two -weeks or more in tilling, providing ensilage 
is well trodden and packed as put in. Putting in 25 tons per day there should be 
three men in silo to spread evenly and pack thoroughly. If I were building again, 

should make openings at bottom large enough t() admit horses and tread with theni,^ 
leaving them inside until silo was tilled. 
l(i. 75 cents per ton. 

17. Not less than a month. 

18. Good in every case except one silo lillcd with grass last year; this was put iu 
the middle of July, two weeks too late, and molded 2 li-et deep on top ; the remainder 
was good. 

19. None iu my experience. 

20. Entirely satisfactory. 

21. Milk plainly of better (juality than when feeeding hay with 6 <iuarts meal per 
day. ~ 

23. 60 pounds per day ; cows of small size. 

24. Part of the time with 1 pound cotton-seed meal per day, then with 3 pouud.s 
wheat bran. 

25. As good as in other seasons when fee<ling 20 pounds of hay and 6 quarts of meal 
per day. 

26. Ensilage can be put up here ([uite as protitably at $3 per ton, as average hay at 
$12 per ton ; 60 jiounds ensilage at that price would be 9 cents ; 3 pounds wheat bran, 
3 cents, making 12 cents per day. My cows have done fully as well upon this feed a» 
upon 20 pounds of haj', at $12 per t(m, 12 cents, and 6 pounds corn meal, 6 cents, 
making 18 cents — 50 per cent, more than ensilage. Five tons of green grass make a ton 
of haj, at .'13, would be .fl5. There is not §3 difference between cost of harvesting 5. 
tons of cvusilage and 1 of hav. In nuiize the showing is better. 



Ali-ued a. Ki:ki). I'roridcmc. U. I. : 

1. Silos join cow barn at each end ar right angle. Ensilage is conveyed from silos- 
to feeding-troughs in a box, open at both ends, running on a single iron track, attached 
to the ceiling of barn and silo. 

3. 20x12x12 feet, 5 feet above ground and 8 feet below. 

4. Stone and cement. One silo built of stone laid dry IS inches thick, faced with 
6 inches of grout (cement and small stones) and one thin coat of cement to make a 
smooth surface. Bottom of silo grouted aud smoothed, superstructure of wood to shed 
water. Second silo constructed of small stones, and cement made thin, and poured 
between the stones. In constructing this wall, 2x4-incli studding was placed 
plumb, 2 feet 1 inch from^face of excavation, and 3 feet apart. Inch boards placed 
horizontally on inner side of studding, between which and face of excavation the 
stones Avere laid. When completed, the boards and studding were removed aud the 
face of the wall pointed with cement to make a smooth surface. Cement mortar- 
used was iu proportion of one of cement aud two of bhari> sand. 

5. Two-iuch iilank laid with close joints. 

6. In one silo 1,200 pounds of stones, packed in 21 oil barrels, equal to 50 pounds 
per square foot of surface. In second silo 4 cast-iron screws attached to beams 
overhead. 

7. Cost of silo No. 1. — Excavation, 1112.63 ; laying walls and cementing, i|143.31 ; 
lumber ami labor, $S7.55 ; 40 barrels cement, $47.20 ; total, $390.69. 

Cost of silo No. 2.— Kxcavation, $42.90; laying walls, $87.77; cementing, $20.. 50 :; 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 51 

cement and freight, $159.95; irou-work for press, !ii);57.9(> ; IiimluT and labor, ii5i:{2.01) ; 
screws and freight, $50.24; total, .f531.41. 

8. Kye, orchard grass, clover, Hungarian grass, sorghum, and corn. 

9. Hungarian grass usually, as a second crop, after rye ; corn planted in drills :5A feet 
ai)art ; cultivated frequently. 

10. When in bloom. 

11. Considerable variation in the past 2 yeai's ; rye, about 5 tons to the acre; 
orchard grass, from 7 to 9 tons; Hungarian giass, from (i to « tons ; corn past season 
(very dry), 14 tons to the acre. 

14. Cut from 1^ to J inches, and also packed uncut, excepting corn, which lias al- 
>vays been cut, quality of ensilage the same. A large; (pumlity can be stored when 
cut, and requires less Aveighting. A steam-engine and cutter, wirh elevator. 

15. Continuous (excepting nights) as fast as can bt; drawn and cut. A delay of 
two days in tilling -will not injure it. Have continued lilling silo during a rain with- 
out injury to the ensilage. While filling, tlie fodder is constantly tramped by one 
man, especially around the edges of the silo. AVlieu tilled, or partly filled, with one 
crop, it is covered at once and weighted. 

1(). \"aries with ditferent fodders. Eye, $2.50 ; corn, $1.50; grass, $1.8?. 

17. Earliest time, six weeks. 

18. Good ; a slight alcoholic smell, with a trace of acidity. 

19. If surface of ensilage is exposed for one or two weeks, a mould forms varying in 
depth according to time exi)osed. If surface is ri^moved daily no appreciable change 
occurs. 

20. Ensilage is cheaper than hay. 

21. Cows previously fed on hay give better milk when fed on ensilage. Butter 
nearly as high-colored in winter as in summer when fed on gra.ss. 

22. Oxen on heavy work last winter gained in flesh when fed on ensilage and a 
mixture of:? quarts of corn meal and 3 quarts of middling (shorts) per day. 

2:5. All they would eat clean (about 50 pounds). 

24. Fed to cows three times })er day, with 2 quarts of middlings at each feeding. 

25. Oxen a material gain, cows a slight gain, health of both excellent. 

2G. Considering freedom from loss by storms, amount of fodder obtained per acre, 
cost of silos as compared with barns for storage, and quantity and (piality of nnlk ami 
buttcn', I consider that ensilage reduces the cost of feeding about one-halt^ 

Professor Koheuts, Coniell rnireisiti/, ItJmcd, N. Y.: 

1. On same level ; about half should be under groinnl. 

2. Twice (or more) as long as wide. 

:i. ;i2 X 10 feet, by not less than 20 feet deep. This should be divided into four sec- 
tions by 3 matched plank walls, secured to upright oak x)osts. 

4. Grout for the first 12 feet, 18 inches or more thick. Last 8 feet double studded, 
cheaply boarded inside and out. 

5. Of 2-inch nnitched light wood as long as silo is broad, less two inches; width of 
each section of cover, 4 to 6 feet. 

6. From 100 pounds to 150 pounds per square foot, a few stom-s on corners, balance 
of weight applied by a single central screw, anchored in bottom. Diameter of rod, 1 
inch to l:^ inches for 30 tons pressure. 

7. If well and durably built, of a moderate capacity — 175 tons — about $2 per Ton ca- 
pacity. 

8. Kye, corn, oats, gra.ss, clover. 

9. Kye follows corn on same ground, and <;orn rye. iioth drilled; corn cu!tival(!(l. 

10. Corn just after tasseling, rye bet'on- or just at blossoming, clover and grasses 
same, oats when in the milk. 

11. Rye 15 tons per acre ; corn, 20; clov<'r, (J to 8; oals, 10 tons. 

12. White Southern. 



52 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

13. No experience. 

14. Engine ; cutter ^A'ith carriers ; rack 25 feet long, on trucks; fodder is drawn from 
the rear of rack, about 600 to 800 pounds at a time, by the lead horses of a 4-horse 
team. Two tons can thus be loaded by two men, in ten to tifteen minutes. 

15. If well tramped may be three or four days in filling. 

16. 50 to 75 cents per ton. 

17. From four to six weeks. 

18. Light colored and somewhat acid ; acidity largely disappears when exposed to 
the air for a time, and color returns. 

19. None perceiitible if not loosened. 

• 20. Very valuable for milch cows, young cattle, horses, and fatteuiug animals. 

21. Milk sold, well liked, no complaint. 

22. See 20. 

23. 50 pounds per head. 

24. Always with other food. 

25. Gain satisfactory, health perfect. 

26. With skill it is certainly profitable, especially as it enables the farmer to tide 
over the hot, dry months. 

J. B. Eogers, Jihifjluitntoii, X. Y.: 

I. Opens to feeding-alley in basement. 

4. Wall 15 feet below sills of barn, 7 feet below stabk; lloor ; stone laid in cement 
except between silo and stable. Bottom and face of wall cemented. Between silo 
and barn above sills the wall is of double boards; space filled with coal ashes. 

5. 2-inch i)lank. 

6. Stones, 75 to 100 jjouuds ])er s([nar(' foot. Am arranging to use iron rods and 
sscrews. 

7. About $:?00. 

8. Corn. 

It. Drills three feet apart ; cultivated. 

10. That was best which had just come into blossom. 

II. Small crop; ouly 10 tons per aci'e. 

12. Stowel's Evergreen, Mammoth Sweet, Blount's Prolific, and Southern White. 
115. Evergreen Sweet is best to feed green, but not equal in yield to the others. 

14. Cut by hand in field; used fodder cutter at silo with two horse-power; cut three 
eighths of an inch; shall cut three quarters of-an inch this year. 

J- 15. Had two men tread in silo ; filled in three days half full, which used all our fod- 
der. 

16. Cutting corn, hauling, paying for machine, teams, and men employed, $1.28 
l)er ton. This can be reduced by larger crop and better knowledge. 

17. Two months. 

15. Mouldy for A to 5 inches next to cover. 

19. The weight was removed soon after silo was opened, but cover was removed in 
sections as used. Any part exposed to air after being opened was somewhat damaged. 

20. Two tons ensilage better than one ton of hay. 

21. Increased the quantity about one quart of milk per cow daily, and improved 
fhe quality. 

23,24. 25 to 30 pounds per day in two feeds, morning and afternoon ; also gave two 
light feeds of hay. Fed about half as much hay as should have done without ensi- 
la<^e. Hope to have ensilage enough this year to feed 50 or 60 i)ouuds daily, aud little 
or no hay. 

25. My cows gained in tlesh aud health, and it was remarked by many farmers who 
came to see, that they looked and seemed to feel better than any cows in the vicinity. 

2j. So profitable that I have more than doubled the capacity of my silos aud size of 
my stables, and expect to fill the stables, and feed on ensilage. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 53 

H. G. Root, Remington VI.: 

•20 tons per acre is a lartre yield of com; I wcif^hcd iiiiiie— did not guess. Ilors-es 
not worked can he \vint(u-ed on ensilage lor half tlic cost of iiay. 

E. K. Seahi'ry, n'alpoh, X. II.: 

I. In corner of baru which has a cellar 9 feet below the floor and 9 feet above; 
a door in the cellar and a door on the barn iloor; feed cows, &c., from the barn floor; 
sheep and hogs from cellar. 

3. 11 X 14 feet, 18 feet deep. 

4. Walls below the barn floor — on two sides cellar-wall cemented; on the other two 
sides brick and cement. Above the barn floor, two thicknesses of boards with tarred 
sheathing paper between. 

fj. Plank. 

6. Iron rods with threads, set in stones at the 1)Ottom; a timber across and follow- 
ers; press it with these screws instead of weights. 

7. $84. 

8. Corn. 

9. In drills, 3 feet apart. 

10. Jnst ready to ear. 

II. A s([uare of the average of Southern corn weighed at the rate of 30 tons to the 
acre; sweet-corn not half so much. 

12. I like the White Southern. It grows large, and in the silo I think it just as good 
jis smaller sorts. 

13. Yield too small. 

14. Cut f of an inch; used a 2 horse-power. 

15. Filled in 2| days. 

16. Cost 90 cents a ton to cut and put in. 

17. Two months. 

18. All right, except a little on the upper outer edges. 

19. None. 

21. Makes as much an<l as good butter as grass, and as much milk as the avei'age 
pasture; butter of better color and texture than from dry fodder. 

22. Very good for young cattle. 

23. 40 pounds per day. A common cow will eat 00 or 70 pounds per day, and do 
well for a short time without other food. 

24. One feed of dry fodder. Have made several experiments, and lind it is not a 
proper feed alone. 

25. Stock did well on two feeds of ensilage and one of hay per day, with the same 
amount of grain I should feed with all dry fodder. Never had stock do better. 

20. I regard ensilage as a success. I can winter more stock at less expense than any 
other way I know of, and have them come oxit in the spring heavier and healthier. 

Experiment No. 1. — White cow gained 40 pounds in twenty days, on 40 pounds of en- 
silage and 4 (piarts of meal. 

Experiment Xo. 2. — Yearling steer justoutofpasture(weight 040 pounds), on 40 iK)uuds 
of ensilage per day, lost 5 pounds in three weeks; I then added one fiuart cotton-seed 
meal and a very little hay, and he gained 50 pounds in two months. 

Experiment Xo. 3. — A heifer two years old, on 40 poimds ensilage and one quart cot- 
ton-seed meal and a little hay, made Of pounds very nice, hard, yellow butter in a 
week. Ou 60 pounds ensilage alone made 5 pounds, as good color, but not quite as 
firm, in the same time, and the cost was less jier pound. Various other experiments 
have brought me to the conclusion as stated. 

Sears Bros., Worcester, Mass.: 
1. Adjoining barn ; ensilage carried on a car to cattle. 
3. 40 X 13 feet and 13 feet high to the sills of the building covering it. 



54 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

4. The walls are 16 iiiclies tliick, made of concrete. A gable-roofed building with 
sills bedded in top of cement walls, increases depth of silo 5 feet. 

Ck 2- inch plank. 

G. Stones, H feet deej), or about i ton to the square yard. 

7. 1400. 

(S. Corn. 

'.). Planted in rows 3i feet apart, and hills 18 inches apart in the row; 4 seeds in a 
hill. 

10. W(^ had one field just tasseled out, one forming ears, and in one tlie corn was 
hardening when we filled the silo. We found, when we came to feed, that first field 
was too watery and the last too dry and woody, but the second was about riglit. 

11. The weight of fodder jier acre last year was raucli less than it would have been 
if the corn had come xip better. June was a very cold month, and nnicli of the seed 
rotted, not more than a third coming up, but wt^ h:id '20 tons per acre, silo measure, 
r.O cubic feet per ton. 

12. We ])refer the most prolific southern corn to sweet corn or northern varieties, as 
it contains much more foliage. 

13. As a dry forage (-ro)) I have used sweet corn and like it very much, but it becomes 
more sour wlieu made into ensilage, than other corn. 

14. We used a portable steam engine of Id-liorse ]>owe,. and could cut eiisily :>() tons 
])er day into | inch pieces. 

If). The fodder was evenly distributed o\cr tiie silo aiul trodden by two inen, tin- 
outside and corners being specially attended to. At the close of each dny all of our 
men Ii'kI about twenty minutes. 

It). The fodder cost, ready for use, about ijil.OO per ton. 

17. Two mouths. 

18. We found 1^ incli of the top spoiled ; below that it was in fine condition, bright, 
and of a i>leasant acid flavor. 

10. In opening our silos we took the stones all ofi'; this was a mistake as we lost 
about a ton apparently from the want of sufficient pressure to exclude the air. 

20. Our business is making milk for market, and we have experimented to ascertain 
its value compared with the best early cut hay. We find that 1 ton of ensilage is 
worth from .$8 to |ir>, or ',i tons ensilage are worth more than 1 ton of best hay for 
making milk. 

21. We have had no experience in making butter or cheese, but have eaten both 
nuide from ensilage, and found them very good. 

23. We fed (iO pounds of ensilage per cow, with 7 pounds of meal and .'> pouiuls ot 
hay. 

24. We fed twice a day half of the ensilage and meal each time. Our meal was 
3 pounds of cotton seed meal and 4 pounds of a mixture of coarse shorts and middlings 
We believe that cattle thrive best on a variety of food. 

25. Our cattle were never so well as they were the past winter; we had but one 
cow on the sick list, and she only for a day. They gained steadily in flesh through 
the winter. 

26. I think feeding ensilage in American farming is yet an experiment; that its 
place in the fitture will be a very important one, I verily believe. Our experiment 
of the past year enabled us to keep 30 cattle, where before we only kept 17, and to 
make 230 quarts per day, where before we only made 130, at a cost then of 3| cents 
per quart, but now of only 2, cents. 



B. F. Skillix(;s, Gray, Me. : 

1. Door opens from feeding room floor. 

3. 17 X 12, X 14 feet deep. 

4. 8-itich brick wall. l:iid in cement. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 55 

r>. li-incli ))lank, jointed. 

6. I prefer stone; have tried sand, but it is apt to get into tlie feed. 

7. $250. 
><. (Jorn. 

9. Drills; kernels, 6 to 8 inches apart. 

10. When the corn is well tasseled ont. 

11. From 25 lo -iO tons. 

14. Cut one-qnarter inch lonjj;; cutter oi)crated by horse-power. 

15. While hlling silo I ke])t three men treading the fodder. I think it necessary to 
9iave it well trodden. 

1(). Last year it cost me $1 per t<ui. Think it can be ])ut in for less. 
17. Three months. 
IW. Excellent. 

19. The tirst year I did wrong by removing the stoue all at once. V>\ removing a 
■third and cutting to the bottom, then remoA-ing another section, there is no loss. 

21. More milk; butter of better color, and tlavor more like June butfer. 

22. My stock consists of cows and sheep. My sheep never did better. 

23. 60 pounds per day to cows. 

24. Feed three times a day, with 1 quart of cottou-seed each time, and a little hay 
■at night. 

25. ^ly cows never were in so thriving a condition as now. 

2(1. It is altogether out of my line of business to write on any subject, but I have 
been called upon quite often to express my opinion in regard to silos and ensilage, 
and I am most happy to do so, for I believe that this new method of preserving corn 
fodder, &c., is flie thhig that will help the farmers of our country. Am sorry that 
■some of the leading men of the agricultural interests of Massachusetts should take 
such a decided stand against silos and ensilage. 

Francis H. Smith, Eyattsrillc, Aid.: 
1. Separate building. 

3. 12 X 10 feet, 12 feet deep; all below ground. 

4. 9-incli brick, laid in cement, except wood partition from root cellar adjoining. 

5. 4 inches straw, and loose boards on top. 

6. 400 pounds stone per square foot. 

7. About $150. 
>'. Corn and rye. 

i). Corn planted in drills 3 feet apart ; cultivated between drills three times. 
10. When the ears are getting into piilk. Rye in blossom. 

12. Any large, strong-growing variety. 

13. No material advantage; would not use it. 

14. Cut by hand, and hauled to silo immediately. 

1.'). 14-inch power cutter. Eugine hired at $5 per day ; belonging to tlirashing-ma- 
■chine. Corn cut about 1 inch long ; tramped thoroughly as it is put in. Filled in 
one day. 

17. About six weeks. 

18. Perfectly free from rot or mould ; strong alcoholic smell. 

19. After weather becomes warm it will heat and mould soon after being exposed to 
the air. The best plan is to take out enough for a week's use, and spread so that the 
air will circulate through it, and cover the exposed silo surface with straw, or some 
loose material. This precaution is not needed in cold weather. 

20. I see no difference, in the effects on milch cows, from good pasturage. 

21. Excellent, both as to quantity and quality, during the six months when good 
pasturage is not available. I should say 50 per cent, advantage. 

22. My horses eat it with avidity, and excellent results. 
24. I mix with it a small quantity of Ijran and corn meal. 



56 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

25. Both horses audcows improve in condition over any other method I have tried, 
and keep in excellent health. I give the horses dry feed once a day. 

26. My impression is that ensilage from a given area of ground will keep at least 
double the stock, during the winter, that hay, corn fodder, or any other crop cured 
dry in the ordinary way will keep. You observe my experiment has been on a very 
small scale. I keep two horses and two cows, and my observations will not be valu- 
able to large pi'oducers. Last year I used corn only, and the drought reduced the 
quantity so much that my supply only filled the pit about two-thirds full, and to> 
avoid the difficulty of having to throw out the stones from so low a level, I cut hay 
and oats in the sheaf and filled to the top before putting on the cover. The dry cut 
feed came out as bright and in as good condition as when put in, and proved a very 
economical method over the slow process of cutting by hand. This year I have filled 
the pic half full of rye, cut in blossom, and when the corn is ready shall remove the 
cover and fill to the top. 

N. T. Sprague, Brandon, Tt.: 

I. Ou one side of barn floor, stable opposite. 

3. .'JO X 15 feet, 18 feet deep. 

4. Stone and cement 4 feet to basement floor, brick and cement 10 feet to feeding; 
floor, double matched boards 4 feet above floor. Bottom and walls below floor cemented. 

.'). Inch boards 15 feet long, fastened together with cleats, each cover 3 feet in width. 
(). Boxes 12 inches square, 18 inches deep, with hand holes near the top, each box 
holding 100 pounds gravel. 

7. .$521, which is much more than necessary. Mine was the first one built in thi.s 
vicinity, and I v.ished to avoid a failure. 

8. Corn. 

9. Sod ground well worked by harrow, rows 2 feet apart, 280 pounds of i)hosphate 
to the acre, 30 kernels to the foot, after covering phosphate with half inch of dirt. 

10. When the stalk has tasseled and before any part has turned to woody fiber. 

II. Mine last year averaged 31 tons per acre, estimating 50 pounds to the foot after 
being pressed. 

12. The southern white. It yields well, and is of good quality. 

13. More sugar in sweet corn, but not enough to makeup for the difference in yield. 

15. One man with scoop or ()-tined fork throws feed as it comes from cutter evenly 
over the silo, and another treads it compactly. I find that if we fill one foot jier day, 
each layer jirotects that beneath and excludes the air from it. 

16. The whole cost per ton, not reckoning interest on the land, was $1.50. I am iu 
hojjcs of lessening the cost this year 20 per cent. 

17. Six weeks. 

18. Sweet as when put in; no signs of mould on top. 

19. Not any. I took out enough each evening for the next day, exposing it to the 
air that it might turn slightly acid, thinking it better for the animals. 

20. Equal to green corn or grass. 

21. Increases flow of milk from 10 to 15 per cent. 

23. I feed cows 18 pounds three times daily, adding 10 jxiunds when in new milk - 
two-year olds 12 pounds; yearlings 10 pounds. 

24. Cows 14 pints cornmeal per day, and iiroportionately less to young stock. 

25. My cattle looked better and felt more playful on ensilage than when fed on the 
best of dry fodder. They drank but little water during the winter. The excrement was 
in the same condition as when on pasture, denoting that the system was in a healthy 
condition. 

26. It is a good grass crop that will yield 2^ tons of hay per acre; this would all be 
required here, with six months' feeding, to winter one cow; 5 tons of ensilage winter* 
the same animal in a better condition ; but with 30 tons per acre an acre of land will 
winter six cows and produce 10 per ceut. more milk. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 57 

Ai.ONZO Stebbins, Vernon, Vt.: 

I. Located 50 feet from feediug-rooiu. 

3. 40 X 12 X 15 feet deep (10 feet below surface of groiuid). 

4. Concrete 17 iuclies thick below the surface, and 12 inches thick aliove ground, 
cemented so the sides were perfectly even. 

5. Covered the ensilage with thin layer of hay, then put on 2-inc;h phmk and 
covered the planl< with about 2 inches of heavy loam. 

(). 1,500 pounds stone to the square yard. 

7. Cost, 65 barrels cement, $100; excavating, $25; hauling stone, |75 ; labor, .fUO ; 
-whole cost, .$310. 

8. Corn. 

9. Planted in drills, 3| feet apart; cultivated the same as other field corn. 

II. 22 tons per acre. 

14. Cut and draw immediately to cutter, which is run by 4-horse engine. Cut one- 
half inch long, and carried to center of silo by means of carrier attached to cutter. 

15. As fast as deposited in the silo spread and tread down by a horse ; 4 quarts salt 
to ton. 

16. Cost, $1.45 per ton. 

17. Finished filling middle September; opened November 29. 

18. Good. 

19. No deterioration. 

20. Cows thrived well, increasing in flesh. 

21. Quality and quantity of milk and Initter equal to that produced from the best 
June pasture. 

22. Young stock thrived well. 

23. Fed an average of 60 pounds per cow. 

24. Fed cows 4 quarts cob meal and same of wheat bran per day, mixed with ensi- 
lage. 

25. Gained in flesh and were healthy. 

26. Am perfectly satisfied with the experiment, and shall continue to use ensilage. 
My cutter was not large or strong enough ; have now purchased another, witli car- 
rier, which I expect will greatly reduce the cost of filling the silo. 



W. C. Strong, Brighton, Mass.: 

As my trial of ensilage is somewhat exceptional, I will omit answers to the questions, 
and only state a few facts which may be of public interest. Having a cemented tank 
which had been used as a reservoir for water, I tried the experiment of using it as a 
silo in 1880. Ten acres of Hungarian grass (about 130 tous), very foul Avith pig 
and rag-weed, so that it would have been unmerchantable in a dry state, was cut 
fine and packed in the usual way, and sold during the winter to milkmen at $7 per 
ton, they doing the cai-tiug. They reported that the cows sought the ensilage with 
avidity, ate it clean, and seemed to thrive and give an improved quality of milk over 
that jn-oduced from hay and brewers' gi-ains. Last season the silo was filled with corn 
of excellent quality, and the bulk of it sold to milkmen at %1 per ton, they coming 
for it, in loads of 1,500 to 2,000 pounds, about once a week. The reports have been 
emphatic from purchasers that it was an economical and excellent fodder, the quality 
of the milk exciting the notice of consumers as more like June milk than they had ever 
had before. A smaller allowance of hay and brewers' grains was used with the ensilage. 
I fed my own cows from a silo at my home farm, and made June butter in January — a 
new era in my experience. That ensilage of corn is the cheapest and most whole- 
some food for milch cows, if supplemented with a small allowance of shorts and hay, I 
entertain no doubt. 



58 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

Capt. A. H. SwENEY, West Troy, A'. Y.: 

I. My silos are away from f(?ediiig-rooms ; they slioiild open iuto theiu. 

3. ::i6xl2feet; 1"2 feet <leep each; two under one roof. This size is better than 
larger ones. 

4. Stone, laid in mortar and cement. 

G. About 20 tons to each silo ; of barrels filled with sand and stones. 

7. Co.'itS.^OO, 

f*. Corn, rye, and clover. 

9. Corn planted in i-ows,-one bushel to the acre. 

10. When the most juice is in, for cows and pigs. For horses, colts, and brood mares, 
I prefer it a little riper. 

II. From 15 to 60 tons of corn to the acre ; 8 to 10 tons of rye. 

12. Southern White for strong clay land. 

13. Sweet corn for sandy loam. 

1.5. Filled all we could each day ; rye about 4 feet, cut in 1-incli lengths ; corn about 
a feet, cut very fine. Three-eighths inch I think best. 

16. About $1 per ton, including cutting in field ; cost $2.10, including interest on land, 
cultivation and everything. 

17. Two mouths. 

18. Splendid, with slight smell like sour-mash whisky. 

19. None whatever, provided you keep weights on what you are not feeding. 

20. No feed equal to it in any way. 

21. Increase ; no other efiect. 

22. I^ed all my brood mares and colts last season with perfect success; never gave 
a particle of hay as long as the ensilage lasted — three months. 

23. Gave horses 40 pounds of ensilage and 4 pounds fine feed, which is more than 
«uough. 

24. Some I gave nothing but ensilage, 50 pounds daily; they did well, but did 
better with 40 pounds ensilage and 4 pounds fine feed. 

25. Too fat, if anything ; in splendid condition and very healthy. 

26. Profit ia very large, consider my two silos Avortli .f 10,000; would rather pay in- 
terest on that than give them up. 



Dr. W. H. T.vxxER, Wassaic, X. Y.: 

I. Silo directly back of basement and opening to it. 

3. 36x15x20 feet deep. 

4. Concrete. 

5. 2-inch plank, well fitted. 

6. Stones; about 18 inches deep. 

7. About 10 cents a cubic foot of masoury. Wall IH inches thick at bottom, 10 inches 
at top, sloi)ed outside. 

8. Corn. 

9. Plant in rows, feet apart, about 4 grains to the foot. 

10. When the bottom leaves begin to turn yellow. 

II. 15 to 25 tons. 

12. Blount's Prolific or Southern White. 

14. I use a cutter driven by an 8-horse power engine and cut the fodder about i 
inch long. 

15. The ensilage drops from cutter to the center of silo. 

16. Cost of cutting in field, drawing, cutting, and packing aboiit 50 cents ^ler ton. 

17. Any time after a month. 

18. Condition when opened good, with a slight acid taste. 

19. No deterioration after opening. 

r20. Two pounds ecjual to one pound of the best hay for cows. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 59 

"21. 1 have used ensilage largely for two years aiul have had no eoui])laint. 
22. Value about oue-half that of hay for all stock. 
2:}. A good strong cow -wants about 50 pounds a day. 

24. I like ensilage for two feeds each day, and hay once, better than either alone. 

25. Condition of stock good; a very healthy nutritions food. 

26. Ensilage I believe to be the dairyman's anchor, on the expensive lands of the 
East ; I would as soon think of doing without a bam as without a silo : I farm for 
profit, not for pleasure, and have found a silo by far the best investment I ever nuide. 

Charles P. Takbell, SokIIi liOi/dUoii, Vt.: 

I. 20 feet distant. 

;{. 12 X 18 inside, 15 feet deep. 

4. 10 feet of stonewall, then a sill and studs 5 feet to plate, sheathed. Hush with 
wall. 

5. 1^-ineh boards, 11 feet 10 inches long. 
(!. Stone, 75 pounds to square foot. 

7. SlOO. 

8. Corn alone last year; am now growing corn, oats, and Hungarian grass. 

9. Corn in drills; should be dressed with snuiothing Innrow at lirst; later, with horse 
hoe or cultivator. 

10. Just before the ear is fully grown, to make sure it is full of juice. 

II. 40 tons; estimated. 

13. Cannot give comparative value. Think it much richer in sugar and starch. 

14. Corn cut last year tive-eighths inch: slionhl be cut shorter, say three-tenths 
inch; cut in the field by hand. 

15. The ensilage should be thoroughly packed — if convenient, Avlth a hor.se — and 
the whole work done and weights i)ut on without itnuecessdri/ dcla;/. 

16. 11.25. 

17. Mine had fully settled in two weeks, and might have been opened without hurt. 

1 left it ten weeks. 

18. Fresh and clean: no unpleasant smell or taste, excepting that in si)ots, owing to 
uneven filling, it was somewhat monldy. 

19. No change. 

22. Fully equal to good hay. 

2:?. Three large cows were fed three full bushels per day each ; a two-year old heifer^ 

2 bushels per day. 

24. I think it^irofitable to feed grain with ensilage. 

25. All the stock, except colts, gained in Hesh on ensilage alone. Their health was 
perfect. The cows did nnu.snally well in calving. 

26. All things considered, I believe every stock farmer should have a silo and feed 
ensilage. I have no doubt of the success of the system. Beef and butter can be made 
much cheaper from ensilage than from hay. 

IvEMAHRs. — Ensilage of corn should not be fed to colts to any great extent ; the 
result will not be satisfactory. The walls of silo should be plumb and smooth, and) 
however constructed, it is much better to make it warm, so ensilage will not beconu' 
frosted. My experience is that stock kept wholly on ensilage, in cold weather, drink 
no water and require none. I do not think the first cut of grass should be ensilaged 
unless the weather is very bad. 

A. T. Thomas, FraiilcUii rail; N. J. : 

1. Door at bottom of silo opening to feeding passage. Small car used to load witlj 
ensilage and run in front of cows. 

2. Silo all above ground and was one end of a hay barn, new timbers being thrown 
across barn to constitute one side of silo, the other three sides being sides and end of 



60 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

baru. I should build above the surface, ou level grouml. It is easier to gut out the 
eusilage from above ground than to pull it out of a pit, and the carrier will just as 
well put it up 12 or 16 feet, when securing the crop, as to droi) it in a hole. 

:?. 10 X 18 X 16 feet. 

4. Upright 2 inch i)lanlc nailed to girths of barn, the plank coal-tarred, building paper 
put on, and 1-inch boards nailed on, to break joints with ])lank, and the boards coal- 
tarred. No bad taste imparted to ensilage by the tar. 

0. Inch boards doubled. 

6. Stone, about one-half ton to the square j-ard ; shall put on one ton this fall. The 
greater the pressure the more perfect the preservation. 

7. Had to plant heavy timbers at two sides of silo, and tic them together to keep 
silo from bulging ; cost, including four extra iron rods and extra timbers, $114. 

8. Corn and sorghum. 

9. Broadcast and in rows, the latter cultivated with smoothing harrow until too 
large, and finished with plow. 

11. Seven tons ; severe drought ; one hundred and eighteen days without rain to 
wet two inches. 

12. Think Southern white corn of large growth, which will not ripen in this lati- 
tude, best. 

13. Sorghum and sweet corn well preserved, but too much acid, arising, no doubt, 
from excess of sugar. 

16. 70 per cent, per ton. 

17. Filled September 7, opened November 5. 

18. A little brown in color; taste, a mild acid. Stock very fond of it. 

19. Not any. 

20. Cows did well. 

21. Milk of good quality, and quantity liberal. 

22. A Holstein heifer, thin in fiesh, wasted ensilage exclusively for two mouths, and 
gained steadily. 

23. 50 pounds. 

24. Shall feed a little meal and dry stalks this winter. 
2r>. Cattle kept well; health perfect. 

26. It pays well. 

A.vijox S. Thompson-, Maijnard, Mass.: 

1. 100 feet from the barn, with a track from the silo to tlie barn. 

3. 36 X 15 X 16 feet deep. 

4. Stone and concrete. 

5. Plank 1^ inches thick. 

6. Stone, estimated twenty tons. 

7. As I was very particular about it, the digging and all, including frame building 
over silo, cost $500. 

8. Corn. 

9. Eighteen loads of barn manure to the acre, planted in drills 3i feet apart; run a 
cultivator through it twice. 

10. When the ears begin to form. 

11. Average a little over 25 tons. 

12. Southern corn is the best. 

14. A i)ortable engine and large cutter. 

15. Cut in pieces ^ inch long; very important to keep it level and tread thoroughly. 

16. 75 cents to $1. 

17. Eight weeks. 

l^i. It was good and bright, a very little acid at first. 

19. Not any. 

20. Cows wer(! in better condition than when fed on all liav. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 61 

2L The milk is richer and better, and more of it. 

2y. Fatted 11 liead and never had any gain so fast on other food. Fed it also to 
shoats, and they thrive well. 

23. 40 to 45 ponnds. 

24. Fed twice a day, morning and night, with a feed of hay in the forenoon and 
one in the afternoon. 

25. I never had stock gain better, or in better health. 

26. Saved me 25 tons of hay, and the cattle did better than when fed hay only. 

A. II. Thompson &. Sox, WoodviUe, Mass.: 

1. Outside of barn connected with feeding-rooms. 

2. 30 X 12 feet, 13 feet high, one-half under gronnd. 
4. Concrete, 15 inches thick. 

C. Stone, 100 pounds to the square foot. 

7. $300. 

8. Corn. 

9. Rows 4 feet apart, hills 18 inches in the row, 4 stalks to hill. 

10. When corn is nearly in milk. 

11. 10 to 30 tons. 

12. Southern grows largest. • 

14. Cut three-eights of an inch long, with fodder cutter and portable engine. 

15. Well trodden while filling. 

16. One dollar. 

17. Ten weeks. 

18. Slightly acid. 

19. Do not see any change. 

20. Better than dry feed. 

21. No bad cftccts ; milk pronounced good. 

22. Good for young stock. 

23. 60 pounds for full-grown animals. 

24. Cottonseed meal twice a day. 

25. Condition good, gain in weight, health good. 

26. A farmer can keep more stock than with grass and hay. Have fed ensilage two 
years. Shall continue to use it. 



S. N. Thompson, Soiithhorough, Mass.: 

I. Under barn, extending up and opening into driveway in front of cattle. 

3. 21x11 feet, 18 feet deep. 

4. Concrete 15 inches thick up to floor of driveway (9 feet) and matched boards 
above (9 feet). 

5. 2-inch plank. 

6. Stones to the depth of 15 inches. 

7. $75 or $80. I used a part of my barn cellar, therefore had no excavating. 

8. Corn. 

9. Planted in drills 10 or 12 kernels to the foot, (about four times too thick). 

10. When the kernels are in the milk. 

II. My crop was light (27 tons iier acre) on account of planting too thick; a i'avf 
acres planted about 3 kernels to the foot yielded one-half more. 

13. I have not tried sweet corn for ensilage; for feeding green from the field T con- 
sider it worth one-third more than other varieties. 

14. Cut by steam power three-fourths inches long. 

15. Prefer to fill the whole in two or three days. 

16. Cost of cutting in field, carting, preparing, and putting into silo $1 per ton. 



G2 ■ SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

17. 7 weeks. 

13. Good, being but slightly acid, with a i)leasant smell. 

19. But little change while feeding. 

20. I consider it worth two-tifths as much as the best hay. 

21. Increased the flow of milk 23 per cent, and quantity of butter fully as much ; 
with 2 quarts meal (one-half the quantity given when feeding hay); no unpleasant 
flavor in milk or butter. 

22. I fed to horses, cows, and young stock; all showed decided improvement except 
the horses. 

23. 50 pounds per day to milch cows. 

24. I used no hay while feeding ensilag(i; 2 (luarts cottoiiseed nu^al to cows. 

25. A decided gain in weight and Improvement in appearance. 

26. Oxen, cows, and calves can be kept on ensilage at one-half the expense of keep- 
ing them in the same condition on hay. Not as desirable for horses. 



L. P. Tkue, Ho])e,Me.: 

I, My silo is 8 rods from feeding rooms; should be as near as possible. 
3. 17 X 24 X 10 feet deep. 

4.al vised the cellar of an unoccupied building, cementing the walls and bottom. 

6. Stone, 40 to .50 pounds to s([uare foot. 

7. .$50. 

8. Corn and rowen. 

d. Planted in drills 4 feet apart, cultivated the same as common held corn. 
10. When in lylossom. 

II. 17 tons. 

14 and 15. I cut my fodder a half inch long by horse power and kept two men con- 
stantly tramping it down. 

16. Cost of planting, harvesting, and liliing silo was $2.25 per ton. 

17. 2^ months. 

18. It was in a good state of preservation. The rowen and leaves of the corn had 
changed to a light brown, the stalks light green. It had an alcoholic odor and taste 
near the top, but lower down it was sweet. 

19. Not any. 

21. My cows give a larger flow of milk fed on ensilage than on hay, with same amount 
of grain. I do not see that it affects the quality either way very much, 

23. 50 pounds per day. 

24. 8 pounds hay each morning; 2 quarts corn-meal daily, with ensilage noon and 
night. 

25. They had good health, held their flesh, but did not gain. 

26. Very profitable at the present prices of hay. 



UXIVEKSITV OF WlSCONSlX, J/(((7(WH , //7.S.; 

I. Near stock barn ; ensilage raised in a box by means of a hay-carrier arrangement 
to a car which carries it to stock barn. 

3. 27 X 12 X 15 feet deep, with 3 feet curbing ai"ound the top. 

4. Walls of rubble sandstone 18 inches thick; inside made smooth with cement. 

5. 2-incli i)lank running crosswise. 

6. 112 pounds of Itowlders per scpiarefoot. 

7. .$413.42, including superstructure costing $119.40. 

8. Corn. 

9. We drill and cultivate as common corn. 

II. 2.22 acres yellow dent gave 53,762 pounds ; 2.6 acres white flint gave 86, .570' 
pounds; 0.15 acre southern white dent gave 6,420 pounds. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE, 63 

15. Filled silo slowly because of poor inachluery. 

16. Total cost for 75 tons .fl.GS per ton. 

17. ;5 mouths. 

18. Good, except a few inches at to]). 

19. A f;ooddeal of waste by nioMldiiij;- in s[uing- ; over 10 per c(!nt. lost in April and 
May in this way. 

20. For reasons which I cannot give here, we have no accurate results on this^ 
point. 

22. Calves and steers on trials of ensila,i;e alone showed a small gain when fed all 
the ensilage they would eat ; calves nnide asgood gain on this and plenty of rich food, 
as with hay and rich food. 

23. lH)0-pomid steers, fed this alone, would eat nbont i\') jionnds per bead. 

24. Fed both with and without other food. 

25. Condition of stock was fair at least. 

26. May pay well at East, but doubt it for Wisconsin, where the product is butter 
and cheese ; near our cities, for milkmen, it may pay. With a good season I think 
we can show the value of ensilage, its cost, &c., in a satisfactory manner on our farm, 
this year. 



W. M. Vilas, liurlbujtun, Vt.: 

I. Silo is a leau-to to bank barn. Cow stables for (30 head are about the level of 
bottom of silo. 

3. 40 X 25 X 25 feet deep. 

4. Wall on bank end 22 feet high and 3 feet thick. Is partially walled on two sides 
where earth is. I used matched spruce IJ-iuch plank everywhere else. Walls pointed 
and plastered with cement. 

5. Plank or boards (rough). 

(). Stone, 12 to 18 inches deep. 
8. Corn. 

'.». Plant in drills 3^ to 4 feet apart, about 25 quarts to acre. Harrow with smooth- 
ing harrow until 10 to 12 inches high, then cultivate. 

II. About 10 to 15 tons; say 12 for au average. 

14. Cut fodder one-fourth and three-fourths inches long with two-horse jjower; cut 
very little one-fourth inch; too slow work. 

15. It is important to have fodder spread evenly and well packed as it is put in. <> 
inches to a foot in depth put in each day will do. 

17. About two mouths. 

18. Ensilage was in good condition; had a swc^et, honej^ smell. 

19. Where the ensilage has been cut down and stands three or four weeks it will 
mould 2 or 3 inches into the fodder; but the cows eat it. It Avill freeze solid in very 
cold weather for 2 or 3 inches into the wall of ensilage, but tllaw^s as soon as it is a- 
little warmer without injuring the ensilage. 

20. Ensilage is better than anything else, in my experience, to winter cows on, and 
l)erhaps to summer them ; but that remains to be tried. 

21. Fed ensilage from middle of November until about the 10th of April. In a day 
(jr two after, my men complained that the cows were not giving enough nulk for the 
customers, so I had them double and then triple, the ipiautity of grain but we were 
not able to keej) up the tiow of nnlk. 

22. All my stock were eager to eat ensilage. 

23. From 50 to 80 pounds. 

24. Have fed ensilage once a day with from 4 to 6 quarts bran, and hay twice; shall 
feed ensilage' twice and hay once when I have enough. 

25. Stock never looked as well; 75 ])er cent, could have been sold for beef (had no 
grain but bran); most of tluiin were nnlkcd all winter. 



64 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

26. Whatever is grown for ensilage sliould be neai" silo; is too heavy to haixl a long 
distance. Will pay better on a large than a small scale. Silo I nsed last year only 
held about 160 tons. I have enlarged this year to about .^)00 tons. 

William D. Waisukx, White Plahis, N. Y.: 

I. As convenient as circnnistauces will admit. 

3. -24 X 12 X 12 feet dee]). 

4. Wood, as wood aft'ords less moisture than stone or brick. (This is for silos under 
ground.) 

5. Thin layer of rye straw and 2-inch planks. Care should be taken that the planks 
are not so long as to rub on the sides iu settling. 

6. Anything most convenient, stone, boxes of sand, barrels, Ac. One ton of weight 
to 10 tons of feed I have found sufficient. 

7. All depends on the cost of labor and luml)er. I build them for 100 tons at a cost 
of $50. 

8. Corn. 

9. Plant in "hedges" with grain drill, 6 inches between "hedges," and 30 inches 
between rows. Cultivate with horse hoe. 

10. When the ear is fairly formed. 

II. From 10 to 40 tons; all depends on soil and cultivation. 

12. I i)refer White Southern. 

13. No advantage over common field corn. 

14. Any machinery that will cut the corn into one-half or three-quarter-inch pieces. 

15. Keep the cut corn evenly spread iu silo and well trodden along the edge in 
course of filling ; the middle portion will naturally get plenty of treading. 

16. Depends on circumstances. I have good, easily worked corn ground, and can 
put iu for $1.50 per ton (labor and material only). 

17. Thirty days ; forty or fifty about the rule. 
l"f. Slight acid taste and odor. 

19. None. 

20 Valuable, if not carried to extremes. 

21. If properly used will increase quality and ([uantity. 

'2'2. Same as for cows. 

23. 30 to 40 pounds per day. 

24. With other food. 

25. Good as to health and weight if fed properly. 

26. The cheapest feed a farmer can produce. 

L. W. Weeks, Oconoitiowoc, His.: 

I. Feeding rooms at the end of silos; doors opening into silos. 

3. Two silos side by side, each 30 x 12 x 17 feet deep. 

4. Stone and cement with sand and gravel, all smoothly plastered with cement. 

5. 2-inch plank. 

<i. Stone, 100 pounds to square foot. 

7. Cost of the silos, including superstructure, $550. 

8. Corn and rye. 

9. I plant corn in drills 3 feet 6 inches apart, about 3 i>ecks to the acre, and culti- 
vate thoroughly with harrow and cultivator. 

10. Cut when ears are in silk and pollen from tassels falls freely. 

II. 15 to 30 tons, depending on condition and fertility of land, cultivation, and 
season. 

12. Southern White Dent. 

14. Cut by hand, placed on dump carts, and dropped in front of cutter. I use a 
2-horse power, and cut from 30 to 40 tons in 10 hours, |-incli long. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 65 

15. I use about twelve men, two in silo to distribute and tramp next to wall, and a 
boy with a horse to tramp the middle. 

16. From 60 to 80 cents per ton, depending wholly on price of labor. 

17. I have opened after 30 days, but prefer 60 days, that it may be wholly cooled off 

18. Always bright, sweet, and good; sometimes a half inch or so decayed on top, 
but this, if mixed in, is eaten. 

19. None whatever. 

20,21. Good ensilage produces more and better milk and cream, if fed in connection 
with a proper albuminoid ration, than I have ever been able to get from any other 
food. No better butter can bo made with any feed I know of, except sweet, young 
grass. 

22. I have only fed cows, calves, and young stock, and I have fed, when I could, 
once at mid-day of hay or other dry feed. 

23. According to weight of animal ; a cow of 900 or 1,000 pounds, 65 to 70 pounds, 
if fed on ensilage alone. 

24. I tiike oft' two or three plank next stable end of silo, cut witli hay knife, and 
pass it out in baskets until the door is reached ; that is removed and the ensilage 
taken with a ten-tined fork and thrown into a barrow, which is wheeled in front of 
stable. I feed milch cows from 40 to .'iO pounds at two feedings, morning and night, 
mixed with 2 pounds corn meal each feed, and same weight of some nitrogenous food, 
as oat meal, barley meal, or mill feed. At noon I feed hay, oats in straw chaft'ed, or 
barley straw chaff"ed. 

25. Stock always gaining in couditiou, coming dut in spring in high flesh, and 
healthy. Since feeding ensilage I have had no trouble with garget or other unhealthy 
condition of udder. 

26. In my experience ensilage has proved a gain in profit of certainly 40 per cent, 
over any method of dry feeding that I know, besides enabling one to carry three 
times th(! auiouut of stock possible on same amount of land with dry feeding. 



CiiAKLES E. West, Daltoti, Alass.: 

1. In barn cellar, near cattle sJauchious. 

3. 16 X 9i X 9 feet deep. 

4. Stone and concrete for 6 feet, balance of wood. 

5. Flank. 

6. Stones, say 125 pounds to scjuare foot. 

7. Adding value of stone and sand on hand, the total expensp was about $100. I 
used 16 barrels of cement. 

8. Corn, Hungarian grass, and clover. 
10. Corn, when beginning to ear. 

12, 13. Evergreen sweet-corn. 

14. Cutting-machine, run by horse-xiower. 

15. Cut half-inch. 

16. $2.50 per ton ; another year I could be prepared to do it cheaper. A small silo 
costs more i)er ton than a large one. 

17. Ten weeks. 

18. The layer of clover and weeds thrown on top were all spoiled. Next, the Hunga- 
rian grass, which has a strong tendency to ferment quickly, was rotted around the 
sides of silo, edges of the plank, and in contact with the clover. The balance was 
good. My corn-fodder, except on sides of silo, was in good couditiou. This season, 
I shall allow a little more play between the ends of the plank and sides of the silo, 
and place a narrow strip, lengthvyise the silo, on top of the plank's end, to act as a 
follower, and exclude the air. I threw in some large sugar-beets; they came out 
shrunken one-half in size, and well pickled. 

20. My milch cows were very fond of the ensilage. I hav(i some left in the silo 

O SIL 



6G SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

at this date, July 15 ; they will leave green grass and eat the ensilage, seeming to 
prefer it. 

21. I think, when i^ast a certain stage of fermentation, although relished by cows, 
it has a tendency to flavor milk and butter Like cabbage. 

23,24. 2 bushels a day, with 3 quarts shorts, and one feed of dry hay. 

26. Profitable in economy of labor, room for storage, and saving food. 



Jno. IJ. Whitman, Dallas Centre, lotva: 

1. In the center of a circular barn, with two rows of cows arranged outside. 

2. Octagonal. 

3. 22 feet across, (four sides 13 feet, four of nearly 8 feet;) depth, 20 feet; capacity, 
800 tons. 

4. Concrete. 

5. 2-iuch plank. 

6. Gravel in boxes, 100 pounds to the foot surface. 

7. Cost, $250, roof not included. 

8. Corn. 

9. In drills; about 5 kernels to the foot. 

10. Corn as soon as the ear is in the milk; millet when in bloom. 

11. 15 to 30 tons. 

12. Sweet corn of the large variety. 

13. Have tried only field corn. 

15. The silo is 12 feet above the floor; the feed is carried by a 32-foot elevator from 
the cutter. 

16. Cost last year GO cents per ton. I hope to reduce the cost this year. 

17. Nearly 2 months. 

18. Sweet and good, except a fraction of the toj) immediately under the planks. 
10. Some, when exposed to the atmosphere. 

20. Fully equal to half its weight in hay. 

21. Very similar to that of green grass. 

22. Same as No. 20 ; extra good for calves. 

23,24. If on full feed, 70 pounds per day; a less amount with some grain and hay 
is better. 

25, 2G. My experience is yet too limited to determine. 



Artkmas Whitney, Maynard, Mass. : 

3. 40 X 16 X 16 feet deep. 

4. Stone and concrete, faced with cement. 
G. Stone, 200 pounds to the square foot. 

7. $600, including roof, &c. 

8. Corn. 

9. I jflant 3^ feet apart, and cultivate with a horse hoe. 

10. When the ears begin to form. 

11. 22 or 23 tons. 

14. I cut some fi\e-eighth inch, some three-eighth inch, and see little or no difi'ereuce 
in the ensilage. 

10. 75 cents per ton. 

17. Two months. 

18. It opened well; Avas sweet. 

19. The cattle ate it as well u^) to June as when it was first opened. I did not notice 
any great change. 

20. I do not think it quite as good as English hay for milch cows, but better than 
common stock hav. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 67 

2L The milk sells well ; no fault found with it. 

22. Calves and young stock did well on it, with very little grain. 

24. Ensilage alone to dry cattle, but to milch cows hay and grain every day. 

25. Stock fed on ensilage kejjt iu good health, and looked well in the spring. 

2G. There is great profit in it. I can keeii double the stock on the same farm. I 
should not want to be without a silo. 



George W. White, Xo. 349 Canal street, New York City: 
1. On basement floor, but not under ground. 

3. 18 X 22 feet ; 20 feet deep. 

4. Walls of matched hemlock boards with three-ply roofing felt between ; timbers 3 
X 10 inches, running horizontally; the lower six being 12 inches from center to cen- 
ter ; then increasing in sjiace 1 inch until the top is reached. There is a row of doors, 
one for each division between the timbers. 

5. Boards, 1 inch thick, 

6. Sand ; 500 pounds to square yard. 

8. Corn and millet. 

9. Corn planted in drills ; millet broadcast. 

10. When the ear is in the milk. 

12. Sweet corn. 

13. One-third more valuable. 

14. Cut into three-inch lengths at top of silo, with gang of saws running up and 
down; saws 3 feet long, gang 12 feet wide. The fodder is drawn from the field and 
discharged upon an endless apron, the movement of which carries it through the 
saws. 

16. Estimated at 56 cents -per ton. 

17. Eight weeks. 

18. Good. 

19. None. 

20. Nothing superior to it. 

21. Good. 

23. 60 pounds per day. 

24. Mixed with grain. 

25. Improved condition in every respect. 

26. Most economical method of storing heavy crops; it insures safety. 



William W. White, Canasera<ja, N. Y. 

I. Silo in and under barn. 
4. Stone and cement. 

6. Stone, 1 foot to 18 inches iu depth. 

7. Cost of a cellar with roof. 

8. Corn. 

9. Drill and cultivate, 28-inch rows. 

10. In flower. 

II. 10 tons — possibly 15 tons. 
12. Southern White. 

16. 30 to 50 cents. 

17. Three months. 

18. Perfect ; slightly acid. 

19. None. 

20. Good as June pasture. 

21. Adds one-third or more. 

22. Equal to grass. 



68 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

23. 30 to 100 pounds per daj-. 

24. Both ways. 

25. Improve in both. 

26. Doubles the value of food over drying. 

J. A. WoLLMER, Turner, Me.: 

I. In the barn about 10 feet from the stalls of the cattle. 

3. 13 X 12 X 8 feet high. 

4. Hemlock boards, double walls, space between filled with sawdust. 

5. 2 inch plank. 

6. Stone, 100 pounds to the square foot. 

7. $30. 

8. Corn. 

II. 12 tons per acre. 

1.5. The cut fodder was simply run into the silo from the cutter, leveled, and the 
cover laid on, and weighted. It was not trodden. 

16. The entire cost of the fodder was $2.75 per ton. The cost of cutting, hauling to 
the bam, and filling the silo, was 83i cents per ton. 

17. 54 days. 

18. Fermented just enough to make it very agreeable to the cattle. A little around 
the outside was spoiled. 

19. No deterioration. 

20. There was a gain in the quantity of milk. 

23. Part of the time we fed one bushel per day, and part of the time two bushels 
per day to each cow. 

24. While we were feeding one bushel of ensilage each, per day, we gave them one 
feed of hay or straw ; when we fed two bushels per day, we fed on ensilage and shorts. 

25. The stock fed on ensilage gained in weight, and were in good health. 

26. I think it is much more profitable tban hay. 

E. Wright, Pleasant Mills, K. J.: 

I. Two silos near feeding alley, and connected liy rail tracks. 

3. Each 12 x 40 x 16 feet deep, 8 feet in the ground and 8 feet out. 

4. Stone, 18 inches thick, laid in cement at bottom and lime-mortar higher up; par- 
tition wall 20 inches thick. 

6. Cement barrels filled with sand, as nuiny as can lay side by side. 

7. Cost of two silos $400, besides the wood-work. 

8. Corn. 

9. Drills, 3 feet apart with a common grain drill. 

10. When in full tassel and silk, with ears well set. If allowed to turn yellow air 
takes the place of sap and the crop is injured in the silo. 

II. The first year 15 tons per acre; the second, because of drought, 10 tons in light, 
sandy soil and i)Oor condition. I believe 20 tons can be averaged. 

12. Have planted the Jersey seed and southern whites; latter I think may be best, 
but am not sure. 

14, 15. As fine as I can, three-eighths to five-eighths inch ; machine run by steam- 
engine: average 10 tons por hour. 

16. 35 cents i)er ton last year; the year before was much more, probably by delays 
and breakages, reaching $2 or more. 

17. If I required the stuff for feed I should open as soon as well settled, say two or 
three weeks, though I have never opened under two mouths. 

18. Sour, apparently a vinegary acid. I think this is not right, and may be avoided 
by putting in when in full sap with no yellow stalks or leaves, putting in quickly and 
weighting heavily 200 to 400 pounds per square foot. 



SILOS AND ENSILAGE 69 

19. I do not tliink it deteriorates after it is opened. Have never seen any opened 
in warm weather, but am fixing for it. 

^ to 25. Of my first year's ensilage I fed milch cows without mixing with other food, 
and concluded that its tendency was to dry them up. This year I mixed one quart of 
meal with each feed of 20 or 30 pounds twice a day, and once with dry hay. On such 
feeding the cows grew fat and gained slightly in milk. 

26. If any profit at general farming can be extorted from the poor sandy soils of 
South Jersey, it can only be done by feeding cattle on ensilage. 



J. C. Whitin, Whitinsville, Mass. : 

I. Convenient. 

3. 44 feet long, 22 deep, 17 wide. Have two silos. 

4. Built into a bank ; IS-inch walls of flat stones, laid in cement ; drain under the 
bottom of wall, constructed in most perfect manner with best masonry work. 

5. Two-inch chestnut plank, laid crosswise, pointed so as to fit closely. 

6 Stones, convenient to handle, weighing from HO to 100 pounds apiece ; not less 
than 200 pounds to square foot. 

8. Corn and rye. Would not use rye again. 

9. Sweet corn planted in rows with planter, 3^ feet apart, 5 kernels to the foot. 
When 3 inches high go over it lengthwise with smoothing harrow — do that frequently, 
as long as you can without breaking it over — then use the common cultivator between 
the rows as long as practicable. 

10. When the ear is half grown. 

II. About 20 tons. 

« 

12. Sauford's, or Stowell's Evergreen. 

13. Consider it better than any field variety. 

14. Cut three-fourths of an inch long. 

15. Wc cut at the upper door, at top of silc. Men level and trample it. 

16. Think it may be done for $1 per ton. 

17. About 2 months. 

18. Perfectly good condition, except on tOj}. 

19. Not any. About 3 inches on top next the planks is moldy, below it is ijot af- 
fected. We always commence to cut on one end, and never remove the weights faster 
than we cut. 

20. One-third of a ton of ensilage is equal to a ton of best English hay. 

21. Think milk and butter are improved by the feed, both in quantity and quality. 

22. Should use it mostly for ruminant animals; good for fattening. 

23. 40 pounds on an ave.-age ; fed twice a day, 20 pounds at a time. 

24. Have never fed it alone. Put two quarts of some kind of meal with the ensilage 
each time it is fed, and give two or three pounds of hay to each animal just after the 
ensilage. At night we give middlings, or roots and hay. 

25. Always a gain and good health. 

26. Consider it profitable for every one who keeps cows. 



Charles B.Ballard, White Biver Junction, Vt.: 

1. Silo parallel with cow bam. 

2, 3. 20 x 64 x 26 feet deep. 

4. Stone and cement ; the floor of stone, each 4x6 feet, and laid in cement. 

5. Planks, with cobble stone about one foot in thickness. 

7. About two thousand dollars. 

8. Virginia corn. 

9. Planted with a oue-horse planter and fertilizer. Harrowed when the corn was 
about one inch high. After that cultivated it three times, about once in ten days. 



70 SILOS AND ENSILAGE. 

10. About the time it begins to silk out. 

11. About 20 tons per acre. 

12. Maryland and Virginia com. 

13. No earthly comparison. 

14. 15. Cut up about one-fourth of inch, carried into silos by stationary engine. 

16. $1 per ton. 

17. About thirty days. 

18. Perfect, and will never change. 

19. None. 

20. $5 per ton. 

21. Increases quantity and quality. 

22. $4 per ton. Effects are good. 

23. Seventy pounds per day, with two quarts of cotton-seed meal, or corn meal, per 
head. 

24. Feed alone. 

25. Condition good, with perfect health. 

26. Worth much more than hay or any other dry feed. 



ENlr'C 



